Only 16
by Azurite
Summary: Serena Tsukino is only 16, but being the reborn Princess of the Moon and Sailor Moon, destined to protect the planet and all its people can have its twisted side effects...like getting pregnant? Well, this wasn't on her to-do list! Ch. 1 REVISED!
1. Chapter 1: The Discovery

**Only 16  
Chapter 1: The Discovery  
Version 3.5  
A Sailor Moon Fanfiction**  
**By:** Azurite - azurite AT seventh-star DOT net  
**Site:** seventh-star DOT net

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon does not belong to me. This work is for entertainment purposes, and is not for-profit. Please email, PM, or otherwise message me if you'd like to post this elsewhere.

**Spoilers/Setting:** Sailor Moon R, Part 1 (Dub)

**Rating:** For Teens (T, PG-13)

**First Posted**: Sometime back in the 1990s, on SMRFF  
**Edits:** 8/2001, 10/29/2008, 3/12/2010

** Original Author's Notes:** To Ryan and Cat, who were the first ones to email me about "Generations", my first BtVS fic, and my onee-chans, Sailor Peace and JLaLa: much love to you both.

Teen Parenting is not impossible nor rare. If you or someone you know is or will be a teen parent, tell them to tell someone else, be it friend, family, doctor or prenatal care specialist. I'm only adding this note for two reasons: 1) my health ed class just learned about this and from what I've heard, it's not fun, easy or worth the…pleasure; and 2)I like stories with some kind of moral, Sailor Moon or not.

**2001 Revision Notes:** Okay, first off, I've spell-checked and grammar checked all the chapters. Next, I'm going to hand-do all the formatting to a proper number of characters per line. Not fun, but for this fic, worth it. Still stuck on 10, and going to redo, and write more sub stories from the senshi profiles. Hopefully my muse will come back from wherever she is to help me with all that. Tell me what you think of the revisions, or just the fic in general. I haven't had feedback in a while.

**2008 Revision Notes: **Welcome to the first-ever HTML edition of "Only 16," my first ever major, multi-chapter fic for any fandom, and for my first (my beloved) fandom, "Sailor Moon." Some of the changes: more description, more prose, better grammar and spelling. Huzzah! I contemplated changing the names from the dub to the original, but I decided against it (with the exception of surnames: it's Serena Tsukino, Raye Hino, Lita Kino, Mina Aino, and Andrew Furuhat. The exceptions are those with known dub surnames: Amy Anderson and Darien Shields).

However, I won't use the dub term "Sailor Scout," (instead I'll use "Sailor Soldier," which is the more common usage; nowadays the "canon" term is "Guardian," but that's a rather flowery translation of "Senshi" IMO) and I'll be using "Serenity" in reference to Serena's past self. Plus, dub or not, "Sailor Moon" takes place in the Juuban district of Tokyo, in the Minato ward. "Crossroads" is a nice name, but completely meaningless and inaccurate. And I know that, in SMS, Usagi/Serena technically turns 16, but I believe that's only if you take into account that the entire first season of "Sailor Moon" didn't happen, and the Ginzuishou miraculously REWOUND time. That's always seemed a bit extreme for me, considering it broke AND killed Queen Serenity when she sent her daughter and the remaining Moon Kingdom survivors' souls "in stasis" to Earth to get reborn a thousand years in the future (nothing was fast-forwarded). Keeping that in mind, Usagi/Serena is 16 by Sailor Moon R, for the purposes of this story. The title won't make much sense otherwise. :PThere are a few other cosmetic changes that use the original names versus the dub, but only where the dub messes things up royally. That is, there's no Negamoon, but there is a Black Moon.

A lot's changed since I first wrote and posted this story more than a decade ago. For one thing, I'm not 16 anymore (I think I was a bit younger than that when I first wrote this story, too!) Being in fandom so long has taught me a lot. Life has taught me a lot. But a lot _hasn't_ changed: teen pregnancy is still hard, is still a major issue, and is still something I firmly believe needs to be talked about one way or another. Part of me cringes a bit at the idea of taking my love of writing and "using it as a soapbox," but that wasn't and isn't my goal in writing "Only 16." I think, if anything, the most enjoyable fics are those that take an extraordinary universe like "Sailor Moon" and integrate reality into it—the drama that comes with our everyday lives. Sure, some of us may read fanfiction as an escape, but we also want it to reflect the darker, more serious side of the reality that the original author created. Naoko Takeuchi's characters have lasted as long as they have, from a manga, to an anime, to musicals, to a live action series, because of how three-dimensional they are. From "Sailor Moon's" beginnings in 1992 to now, those "Pretty Soldiers" or "Pretty Guardians" live on because of the fans, because of the fics, because of art.

"Sailor Moon" was my first introduction into fandom. "Sailor Moon" opened my eyes to Japanese language and culture. "Sailor Moon" is my last and strongest link to my late sister, and in a way, she embodied the traits I admire the most in every single Sailor Soldier. She lives on through me, through my participation in fandom, and through this fanfiction. It is because of her that I can proudly say I've been in fandom as long as I have, and that I have met the amazing people I have.

This fanfiction's revision is dedicated to her.

Thank you, Michelle, for everything.

* * *

Serena was shocked, to say the least. She had no clue how it all started, but she had a vague idea of when she started getting signs: earlier in the month at Raye's, she'd felt nauseous. But it was a different kind of nauseous than the time she ate three and a half cotton candy sticks at the amusement park, or the time she'd eaten a packaged day-old sushi set from the convenience store, or the time…well, it was just different!

"Raye, uh, I'm not feeling so good…" Serena had mumbled as she wrapped her arms around her middle, her stomach feeling as though it were performing somersaults inside her. She stumbled off to the bathroom, already knowing she was going to throw up. She distantly heard Raye grumble aloud about her probably having eaten one too many pork buns, but Serena's nausea was too overwhelming for her to feel annoyed that day.

Some time after that first throwing-up incident, Serena found herself walking listlessly down the streets of Juuban. She wasn't really paying attention to the world in front of her, but as she kept to the streets nearest the park, the world around her simply wasn't of much concern. Instead, Serena had a greater fear, one that had been building slowly, ever since she'd visited her doctor about her continued nausea and vomiting.

"Miss Tsukino, I think you should go see Dr. Cunningham down the hall."

"Is something the matter with me?" As far as Serena could tell, her exam had been fairly normal: the doctor weighed her, measured her height, took her temperature, looked in her mouth, her ears, her nose, and poked her—a lot—to see if she was sensitive anywhere. Truthfully, Serena didn't remember her doctor having such sharp nails, which explained why she'd winced and yelped a lot more than she remembered doing at previous appointments.

"No dear, not at all. You're…uh, just of that age." Serena sort of understood what her physician was saying, and did as she was told.

"Well, you say you've been feeling sick. Have you been getting abnormal food cravings?"

"I'm always hungry," Serena said with a faint smile, her cheeks stained pink.

"Hmm. How old are you again, Miss Tsukino?"

"Only sixteen."

"Well, I'd like you to take this. It's a test."

"Test for what?" Serena asked, looking at the items in the doctor's hands.

The doctor took a deep breath. "I'm going to be frank with you Serena, because you look like a smart girl," Dr. Cunningham said, baffling Serena. No one had ever called her "smart" before. Not sincerely, anyway. "This is a pregnancy test. Have you ever been raped or sexually assaulted?"

"No, no…never," Serena murmured in shock. She didn't dare mention that she had never had sex **at all**, but there had to be a reason why her doctor suspected….

"It's all right. This is standard testing for girls around your age. Girls usually first become sexually active between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, and we like checking so that when and if something happens, they are prepared."

"Oh, okay." It was easy to say, but Serena walked away on wobbly legs and fear surging through her veins. Her grip on the items the doctor handed her was shaky at best, but somehow she managed to make it to the single-stall ladies' restroom without dropping them.

When she came back fifteen minutes later, the doctor took one look at her face and proceeded to lecture her (though the doctor probably thought she was "reassuring" her) that the test was merely standard, not special, not done because she showed some signs or said anything in particular about her symptoms, or, or….

_'Standard, not special. Just standard.'_

"Okay, I can call you or you can return here for the results."

Serena briefly thought of having the doctor call, but what if her dad—or worse, her brother—answered the phone? Even if the results were negative...?

_"Serena, the test results came back…you're not pregnant!"_

Serena found herself sweatdropping in embarrassment as she nodded.

"Yes to what?" the doctor asked, only faintly smiling.

"Um, I'll come in."

"One week from today, at, say, four o'clock?"

"Okay." Serena nodded and took her stuff from the table and left, praying she could survive the week without revealing anything to anybody—if there even was anything to reveal.

One week later, Serena had her results: She was five weeks pregnant._ 'I'm going to be a mom. I'm going to be a mom,'_ she repeated in her head. _ 'But…_' There, her train of thoughts ceased, careening into a pit of 'What-If's', 'Oh-No's' and other similar worries. She kept walking.

Across the street, Darien noticed Serena walking so haphazardly, and wondered if something was wrong. He was very tempted to go over there and ask her if she was all right, but...

_ 'You _can't_. Remember, she's in danger because of _you_.'_

* * *

When Serena finally got to the temple that evening, the girls were already crowded around Raye's bedroom table, discussing…something. Serena couldn't make out the words properly, she was too overwhelmed.

It was Mina who finally noticed Serena at the door.

"Serena! Hey girl, are you okay?" Mina had known Serena had had a doctor's appointment that day, but that had been hours ago. Mina had been one of the most worried when they discovered Serena had yet to return home, and that worry increased tenfold when they couldn't get hold of her via the communicator. At the time, there hadn't been any emergency—no attacks courtesy of the Black Moon lately, but they couldn't afford to rest on their laurels.

Mina worried that Serena herself had gotten caught in a fight solo, and had done something stupid like leave her communicator at home. But Luna had reported that she'd distinctly seen Serena put it in her bag that morning, and that if anything was typical, it was Serena simply having buried it so far in her bag that she wouldn't hear it beep. No doubt she was just 'spacing out' at the arcade, having forgotten entirely about the meeting.

"Serena? Snap out of it!" Lita said, shaking her friend and fellow Sailor Soldier.

"Yeah, tell us where the heck you've been!" Raye demanded. "No wait, let me guess, you were at the arcade and you 'totally spaced, way sorry,' and just now remembered the meeting when you caught sight of the new Sailor V game, or—"

"Raye, quit it!" Mina interrupted. "Can't you see Serena can't get a word in edgewise with you yelling at her like that? Besides, she had a doctor's appointment, didn't you, Serena? It probably just took a bit longer than usual, right? I hate those waiting rooms—"

"Now who's babbling?" Raye grumbled under her breath. Mina shrugged sheepishly and settled back onto her cushion, her eyes drawn back to Serena, who was still standing in the doorway, shivering in Lita's arms.

"I, I…" Serena stuttered, trying to find her voice.

Mina exchanged a worried look with Amy. This wasn't like Serena: not at all. Something bad had definitely happened. But it wasn't as if Serena looked any worse for the wear, really, so what…?

"Serena," Mina chuckled nervously, "come on, the suspense is killing us. What's up?"

"I, I…" Serena stuttered again. The words just wouldn't come. _"Hey guys, guess what I found out? I'm mysteriously pregnant, even though I've never slept with anyone! Nope, not even Darien, not even before he put me through heck and back again by forgetting about me, remembering me, and then dumping me because he doesn't want to be ruled by the destiny or the memories we all fought so hard to recover. Nope, not even him!"_

Yeah, that'd go over real well.

"Maybe we should let her be guys, she looks kinda sick, " Amy remarked.

Lita cautiously removed her arm from around Serena's shoulder, but she guided Serena to a cushion, where she sat, still staring ahead at no one, at nothing, her lips feeling as though they'd been glued shut by fear.

_'I can't tell them. They'll think I'm crazy, or not fit to fight—and what about Dad…and Mom? I don't even know how this happened, how can I tell them?'_ If it had been something else—**anything** else—Serena might have been glad for the excuse not to fight the newest villains on the block, not to come to meetings at the temple every day, not to "keep an eye" on Rini, the little nuisance who'd ingratiated herself with everyone in Serena's life, leaving Serena herself as though she were all alone.

But this was different. This was a real child, a real life. The same kind of life she'd sworn to protect, no matter what evil there was, be it the Negaverse or aliens or the Black Moon or whoever! Except it was **hers**. Her child. A life growing inside her!

"Serena?" She couldn't tell whose voice it was, if it was Raye's or Amy's or maybe all of the girls', talking in unison like they sometimes did. They were all best friends, they could do that. But…how could she tell them? She knew what they'd say:

"Ugh, Serena, how could you?" Raye, looking at her with disgust.

"Wow, and people tell me I'm boy-crazy. Serena, I didn't know you had it in you!" Mina, rolling her eyes and grinning.

"I thought you'd grown up a little, Serena." Lita, shaking her head in disappointment.

"You never do learn, do you, Serena? There are consequences to everything!" Amy, pushing her glasses up her nose and refusing to even look at her.

Not to think of Luna, Artemis, her brother, her mother, her **father**…! Serena's heartbeat quickened in her chest, and she felt the room squeezing her in. Her lips opened, and she felt the burbling of a scream coming on.

_ 'I have to get out of here!'_

She didn't even notice the tears dripping down her face, the concerned expressions on all her friends' faces, or the shock that followed immediately after, when Serena bolted to her feet and dashed out of the bedroom and beyond the temple grounds, long out of earshot by the time anyone had found their voice to call her name.

* * *

The next afternoon, a Sunday, Serena had thought her situation over…somewhat.

_'I can't tell anyone…_yet_. I mean, I don't know anything, so how can I answer their questions? I'll have to—to get a job, and study harder so I don't drop out, and get a test, so I know who the father is…'_ Was that even possible? To get a test to find out who the father was without the father himself knowing? And what if there **wasn't** a father?

_"Congratulations Miss Tsukino, you're carrying an alien baby!"_

Serena cringed. Maybe this was just some crazy mistake. Pregnancy tests could be wrong, and even doctors screwed up sometimes, right? But could she really take that chance? She'd already gotten her friends suspicious, and she couldn't just go back there, "back to normal" and pretend nothing had happened: not if she really were…! And **if** she really were, then what? Maybe this was something to do with the Silver Crystal, or her past as Princess Serenity, or—or any number of things. And none of them were things Serena she could talk to a soul about. They'd all say she was crazy. Irresponsible. Stupid.

She sighed deeply and shook her head sharply once, her ponytails snapping in front of her face with the abrupt movement. _'One thing at a time.'_ Serena inhaled deeply and then exhaled, then proceeded to march into the Crown Center Arcade. She could only hope that what little she'd managed to form into a "plan" would go off without a hitch.

"Hey Andrew!" Serena greeted with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. It didn't work, because Andrew saw her forced smile, and Serena knew it the instant his own smile dropped a millimeter.

"Hey Serena. How's it been? The arcade's been kind of lonely without you! You've been gone a couple of days."

"Oh yeah…flu bug," Serena lied. She winced inwardly; she hated lying to her friends. But Andrew—she'd been lying to Andrew from almost Day One. He didn't know she was a Sailor Soldier, didn't know why she'd stopped crushing on him, didn't know why she was always exhausted. Maybe this would be the first step in changing all that.

_'He'll probably be the first to know, if this works well.'  
_

"Too bad. You're feeling better, right?" Andrew asked. His smile had returned, but there was something odd in that smile that Serena couldn't quite place. For an instant, she was afraid: did he know? How could he know? Was she showing already, somehow, someway? She was only five weeks in, according to the doctor….

"Oh yeah. In fact, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah, shoot."

"Well, um…see um…you need help with the arcade, right?" Serena asked, motioning to the 'Help Wanted' sign in the window. Andrew's younger sister Lizzy was gunning for acceptance into the same school Raye went to: T.A. Girl's School, an elite private school with a very small freshman class, because most of the students were continuing students from the school's "escalator" elementary and junior high system. As a result, Lizzy felt she couldn't work the arcade anymore, not with her need to study and pass the high school entrance exam.

Once, Serena might have been a bit concerned about that, too. But now she had to think about the next 31 or so weeks as "the big picture." She had to focus only on finding a way to support herself and a child by the time she was ready to tell everyone—and ready for her world to fall apart at the seams. Serena, used to being dubbed the 'eternal optimist,' suddenly found herself thinking wryly that there was simply no other way to look at her situation. Her father would probably disown her, her mother would refuse to speak to her, her friends would all deem her irresponsible as a friend and as a Sailor Soldier, and—and that was all there was to it. Serena had only to focus on graduating junior high and getting through the next several months without ending up on the streets.

"Yeah. You offering?" Andrew asked, smiling genuinely.

"Yeah. I'm in the need for money, and well, my parents aren't exactly teller machines, ya know?" That was the way to go, Serena decided. Make light of it, like you always do. Pretend there's nothing wrong. You'll be able to tell him when you're good and ready, not before.

Andrew laughed heartily. "Well, all I'll need is for you to fill this out," he said, reaching behind a counter to retrieve an application. "And since you're a student of my ol' alma mater, I know they're cool with part-time jobs. And your parents will be too, right? Wait, don't answer that—they're probably the ones that told you they're not bank tellers, right?"

Serena laughed sheepishly. Well, they hadn't told her that **recently**, but…. "Yeah, something like that," she said lamely.

"Right. And I guess since I know you like a little sister, there's not much of a need for an interview. But this is serious business, Serena. I'm hoping you wouldn't be asking if you didn't know that."

"Oh, I know. I won't be sitting playing games while I'm here."

"Nope, you'll be fixing machines, cleaning screens, mopping, and probably beating up a lot of coin slots." Andrew laughed. "Most of it I think you've already got down."

"You bet!" Serena grinned. She retrieved a dark pink pen from one of her skirt pockets and started to fill out the application. It indicated right on there that pay would be between 800 and 1000 yen an hour, and that wasn't much for a part-time job. Serena wasn't a member of any after school clubs, but Raye would probably throw a fit if Serena's sudden decision for a job interfered with potential "study" meetings at the temple. They'd tried meeting at the arcade and parlor in the past, but it was just too noisy most of the time. There was simply too much of a chance that Sailor Soldier business would be overheard.

And…it wasn't enough for monthly rent in Juuban by any stretch of the imagination. Where would she get the money for that?

Her pen started to leave droplets of glittering pink ink on the application, so Serena stopped that train of thought before it could derail her completely. _'Worry about it later,'_ she told herself resolutely. _'One step at a time, remember?'_ And so far, the first step was a success.

"All right, perfect," Andrew said, skimming over Serena's application. "Everything looks good—I'd say you're hired."

Serena beamed, smiling the brightest she had in more than two weeks. "Thank you so much, Andrew! You don't know how much this means to me!" She reached over and swept the taller man up into a tight bear-hug, while Andrew returned the hug lightly and ruffled Serena's hair.

"No problem. Just don't get any grand ideas about buying me out, okay? My dad owns this place and I plan on keepin' it in the family!"

"No worries, Andrew!" Serena smiled. "So, when do I start?"

"Hm, how about tomorrow after school? Around three-thirty or four?"

"Sounds great. I'll be here." Serena started to head to the door, but Andrew called back to her.

"You're not going to stick around and play a few games? I'll even let you start using your employee discount!"

Serena smiled. "Tempting, but I think I'd better study up on my computer engineering first if I'm going to be getting my hands dirty and fixing any games! See ya!" And with that she swept out of the arcade, her steps light and her smile true. She left a flabbergasted Andrew in her wake, who wasn't quite sure whether Serena had been serious about studying computer engineering or not. The very possibility was mind-boggling.

* * *

_A thousand years ago…._

She heard his steps before he'd knocked, and she smiled to herself, whirling across her room, pretending to be absorbed in something or another. She wasn't. She was practically tingling with delight, with anticipation, with excitement. Oh, she knew he was coming. And she wanted to revel in his presence for every precious second she could, because the sensible, learned side of her (the side that was pleasant to visiting diplomats and seemingly-attentive to all her teachers: the side that the rambunctious, curious Princess Serenity often squashed into obscurity) told her that it simply wouldn't last.

Not her relationship with Endymion, oh no. That would last forever, and no supposedly-sensible part of her would believe otherwise. The whole of her believed that. But as Serenity glanced out of her room's terrace door, admiring the bright lights and the still water, and the absolutely perfect view of Earth, suspended in the midnight space like a giant sapphire flecked with emeralds and diamonds, she was reminded of how fragile it all was…all the peace. Everything she took for granted.

Well, if it was all going to fall apart any day now, she might as well enjoy it while it lasted!

Endymion hesitated outside her door. She heard him shuffle his feet, stop before knocking. He was nervous, and Serenity could tell without even seeing his face. She smiled as she answered, back to the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened without a squeak; it was Endymion's boots on her room's marble floor that she heard, click-clacking.

"Serenity."

It was only her name, but something in the way Endymion said it seemed to make the ambient temperature of the room rise a great deal. Serenity couldn't pretend to be ambivalent anymore. She spun around and launched herself into Endymion's waiting arms. She decided not to bother with any of the dangling bits of words she'd tried to come up with, things to prompt Endymion into talking, into **asking** that all-important question. She kissed him instead.

Endymion drew her easily into his embrace, but the moment his lips met hers, Serenity knew there was something wrong. He was being chaste with her—delicate. **Too **delicate! He was treating her like some sort of porcelain doll, and they'd been together long enough (a smattering of months that both felt like eternity and like nothing at all) for him to know better. Why…?

She decided to push her luck, just a bit. She opened her mouth against his, slid her tongue along his lower lip, tightened and lowered her grip so his hips were pressed firmly against hers. She smiled against his lips when he groaned just loud enough for her to hear. She took this as indication to continue, to do more, but then Endymion stiffened in the wrong way against her, and pushed her away.

"Endy, what's wrong?"

"Serenity…" He seemed to be catching his breath, but as it had been her doing most of the work and not him, this made Serenity that much more suspicious. He wasn't even meeting her narrowed gaze, his only words since his arrival having been her name. Well, this was his opportunity to start talking, if that's what he wanted! She wanted to fight against the tears gathering against her lash line, wanted to run to her bed and scream into the pillows. Lately nothing had been going her way, and to have Endymion add onto all that…?

_ 'But the look in his eyes, his smile, oh dear…' _ She remembered that look on her guardians' faces. The girls only looked like that when they were about to tell her something **bad**, like she had an extra hour of lessons, or her mother wanted her to attend an audience with some boring planetary officials from the Andromeda system, or….

"Serenity, I want to ask you something."

_'What if he asks me if he can see other girls? I should have known! It's like Mars said, he doesn't really love me, he just wants me because I'm a pretty princess or for my kingdom and its power—what if he only wants me for power?'_

"Yes, Endymion?" Serenity pronounced softly, not giving away her true emotions. This was in her lessons: be dignified, be graceful. Even if you don't like what you're hearing, don't show it. Don't give them the power.

"Serenity, I—I…" Endymion, Crown Prince of Earth, stuttering. Serenity fought back a smile, but it still curved her lips ever-so-slightly. He'd never been a talkative young man in the time she'd known him. But his speech had become more stilted, even in private, ever since his mother's murder a few months ago. She'd been the one he'd turned to then, not his personal guards, not his grieving father. And the young man who'd always seemed to set himself apart, to close himself away, opened up to her in a way Serenity never could have predicted. And with each secret told, with each memory of his mother revealed, their connection grew stronger, their bond deeper. She knew it, for she felt it, deep in her soul.

It had become easier for them to speak after that. None of the awkwardness, none of the stupid, stilted formalities. For him to suddenly have reverted back to that—that **boy**—was frightening Serenity more than she could bear to imagine.

Suddenly Endymion gripped her arms above her elbows and led her to her bed. She was the one that plopped down on the mattress, looking bewildered and upset, while Endymion, who always seemed to direct his gaze elsewhere whenever she deigned to look at him, stood before her. Then, quite suddenly, he dropped to one knee, and Serenity knew that the next moment would either make her the happiest she'd ever been or the most desolate.

On any planet, throughout any solar system, in any galaxy, she knew this truth: men only dropped to one knee before a woman if they worshipped them in love or were begging for their forgiveness. Serenity could only hope that, for Endymion, it was the former and not the latter.

And then his eyes met hers.

"Will you marry me?" Endymion asked, bluntly, simply. Serenity still looked at him, her eyes scrutinizing him. But there was nothing in her own cerulean eyes to indicate she'd **heard** him. The words seemed like something of her imagination; she'd been so ready to believe he was begging her forgiveness for a transgression she would not want named….

That was when Endymion reached into a pouch he had tied at his belt, and withdrew something sparkling. Once the haze in her vision cleared, Serenity knew he wasn't begging forgiveness.

"Oh my, Endy…" Serenity gasped. She'd been prepared to be mad at him, to show him all her Lunarian grace and dignity and the so-called icy demeanor she and other Lunarians were supposedly known for on Earth. It all left her in a breath, and now she was fighting back new emotions.

It was a Terran tradition, the ring: a man would give his beloved a ring to symbolize their eternal love. His ring to her, and a ring from her to him, upon their wedding day. The only reason why Serenity even knew about it was when she asked about the unique ring Endymion suddenly started wearing on a chain around his neck. He'd never worn anything so ornamental before…before the death of his mother. After hours of conversation about the late Queen (one-sided, really, but Serenity was more than happy to be the listener for once, especially if it meant he'd stay longer, just a bit longer…), she'd dared to ask after that ring: was it his mother's?

Yes: yes it was. It was old—his mother's mother's mother's…going all the way back through the family, hundreds or maybe even thousands of years. Any other ring of that age would have been tarnished and likely missing more than a few of its gems, but Serenity could tell that it was well-cared for. Untarnished, perfectly intact, almost new in appearance.

Close-up, she realized why countless queens had cared for the ring. It was simple in its beauty, but awe-inspiring at the same time. A silver band twined around a gold one, and set where the two met at the apex of the ring was a stone both unlike anything Serenity had ever laid eyes on, and familiar enough to quake her soul. It looked like the Earth itself.

Not a sapphire nor an emerald, not an opal nor a moonstone; this was something altogether different, altogether special. And Endymion was giving it to her.

"Serenity, please, make me the happiest man alive, and marry me. I love you," Endymion whispered.

"Endymion," Serenity breathed, taking his hand in her own.

When they stood, Endymion still held her small hand in his own expecting an answer. The delight that had tingled to Serenity's toes before his arrival returned, filling her to overflowing. Gone was the controlled, dignified, sensual, regal princess.

"YES, YES, a million times YES in a moon minute!" Serenity squealed, leaping into his arms.

He failed to wrap his arms around her, but Serenity didn't care about that; she was going to burrow herself into him until she couldn't tell where he ended and she began. She was going to melt into him and stay wrapped around him forever and ever, to make up for lost time, for all those clandestine meetings cut short, for all those times they'd each made excuses because of their guards, because of their parents. For once, this was perfect, this was right.

But it seemed more than a minute had passed, and Endymion still hadn't hugged her back. "Endy?" Serenity asked worriedly. No response. "En-" Serenity was cut off this time by the warmth of Endymion's mouth on her own, but this time, he was most definitely kissing her back. Serenity made him wait a few moments before she eagerly reciprocated.

"Mmm…" Serenity found herself moaning slightly. Endymion pulled away slightly, having leaned over deeply into Serenity so that her top half was almost entirely splayed out upon her bed.

"Serenity, I love you." Something about the roughness of his voice but the contrasting tenderness of his touch, of his lips just then, against her wrist, against her palm, on the front of her hand made Serenity feel warm and liquid inside.

"Oh Endymion, I love you too, now and forever." She couldn't help crying as he slid the ring on her left hand's fourth finger—part of that Terran tradition, again, but Serenity fell in love with it even more as she admired that Earth-stone on her finger, symbolizing **her** eternity with Endymion, with Earth. Tear after tear started to track its way down her face, and Endymion wiped each one away, first with one finger, then with his hand, then with his lips. He kissed her chin, her cheeks, her brow, her nose, and finally—finally! Serenity thought, agonized by the duration he'd made her wait—her lips.

The short kisses became deeper, and Endymion had no compunction with teasing her by kissing her everywhere but her lips repeatedly. When his kisses met her neck and trailed lower, Serenity knew there was no going back. And why ever would she want to? She'd stopped thinking about the past, about peace, about war, about her guards or his, about anything but the man before her, over her, on her and then, finally, blissfully, in her.

And the universe shifted.

* * *

Serena woke up from the intense dream, sweating and breathing heavily.

_ 'Did we…'_ Serena thought, once the haze cleared from her mind. It sure would explain a lot…okay, maybe nothing at all, but it was the first conclusion Serena jumped to when she put **that** and the fact that she was pregnant together.

_'But that was then, and this is now. Darien and I never…'_

And it wouldn't make a difference anyway, would it? Darien only wanted to escape the past, escape the supposed destiny the universe had laid out for him. Forget the fact that he'd been searching for his memories of the past nearly his whole life, that being reborn couldn't change the bond between them, that…

_'This is stupid! Not even worth thinking about! It's just a dream, and even if—by some crazy chance—it weren't, Darien wouldn't care. He's out of your life, Serena. Move on. Be a big girl. You'll need to. You're on your own now.'_

Serena shook her head resolutely, determined not to tell **anyone** until the time was right, and went right back to sleep.

* * *

Two months later, Serena found herself staring wryly at her reflection in the mirror. She was starting to show, and before long, Sammy would be making fun of her, her mother would act suspicious, and her father would disown her. Time was running out.

She'd been lucky so far, hiding the very first signs with stylish peasant tops, layers of sweaters, and her winter school uniform top. But it wouldn't continue so easily, not as the weeks rolled on.

_'Weeks. I'm thinking of everything in weeks now.'_ That was a change. It wasn't "two months," it was "eight weeks." Even though she'd learned terms like "trimester," every time she went to the doctors, it was "weeks along" and "weeks left," and "by this week" or "that week." She supposed that, in the past, she'd only lived a day at a time. That was how she'd always been: doing what she wanted then and there, because why not? While her attitude changed after she'd become Sailor Moon, the need to live on a day-to-day basis hadn't. She couldn't afford to change that part after her first transformation, because she never knew when there'd be another attack. She never knew if she'd survive another battle.

Now, she knew she could—no, she **would**—live another day, another week, another two weeks. She had to, because it wasn't just **her** anymore.

She had to acknowledge that ticking clock within her now, that countdown that had mysteriously begun thirteen weeks ago. She'd have to find a way to get a place soon, find a way to tell Andrew (and pray that he'd let her keep her job), and find a way to tell her parents. Those were the priorities.

Serena turned to the side, wondering if she would have to "suck in" were she to wear this top. She hadn't bought any maternity clothes yet. At night, she was making do with sweat pants and baggy sweaters.

And the girls? Or Darien?

_'No. Not now. Not yet.'_

Serena didn't know if she could take her friends cutting her off completely. She'd already made the mistake of doing that once, with Molly and Melvin, and now the two of them seemed quite content without her. It was a mistake too far in the past for Serena to rectify, and even if she made some pathetic attempt at it now, there'd be no guarantee Molly's reaction would be any less disgusted or disappointed than what Serena imagined the Sailor Soldiers' would be.

It wasn't as if she could hide it from them—the girls, that is—forever, but Serena still didn't know what to do or say to them. She still didn't have the answers they'd want, and that was after eight weeks of contemplation. Part of her thought was if they found out somehow—by accident, maybe—it might be easier. Save her the trouble of saying anything at first, of starting the awkward conversation. But despite the time passed and the few battles with the Black Moon fought, no one noticed anything. And Amy with her all-purpose super-computer and visor never noticed anything. Maybe because she'd never had a need to activate the visor in battle these days. If there was anything to be grateful to the Black Moon for, it was being straightforward. Even if their droids had particular strengths or weaknesses, it didn't take a genius with a super-computer to figure them out.

But it might just take one to figure out how the heck Serena was going to get her own place without her parents' help or knowledge.

Serena had scoured the classifieds of a half-dozen papers over the past two months, flipped through countless apartment magazines, and even bothered to go to the library (not the one at school, though; that would be too suspicious) to look at online ads. Though there were a number of places available in both Juuban and the neighboring district of Azabu, they were simply too expensive for Serena to even fathom. In fact, they **all** seemed that way, which made Serena wonder what her options would be if she **couldn't** somehow find a place.

Serena scowled at her reflection and then headed out the door of her bedroom. Today was a full work day at the arcade, and even if she couldn't explain to anyone just why she'd taken on the part-time job, her parents were at least pleased about it. Despite it being a "frivolous" choice of employment, her mother at least approved of her initiative, and doing something she enjoyed, and spending time with nice people. Her mother had stopped inquiring after Darien though. Serena hadn't explicitly mentioned the break-up, but she supposed something in her demeanor must have made it clear to her mother enough to not lump Darien in with the other "nice" people that Mrs. Tsukino considered Serena's friends.

And speaking of Darien, today was a fairly likely day that he'd be at the arcade. He'd shown up there fairly regularly most Saturdays and Sundays. The first week, she'd started on a Monday, and had made it a whole six days without seeing or even thinking of him—much. Then on Saturday, while Andrew had been showing her how to get coins unstuck from their slots on a Sailor V game, he'd showed up. Andrew had been standing above Serena, surveying her progress as she worked a flat piece of metal into the delicate inner workings of the coin slot, trying to nudge a 100 yen coin down its proper path. The moment the coin slid free and the machine came back to life, Andrew bent down.

"Good job! You'll get used to the grease, but in the meantime, here." He bent down and handed her a rag from his apron pocket. Serena wiped her hands gratefully and made a mental note to get an old handkerchief to carry around with her for that very purpose. "Looks like Darien just showed up. Want to take a break and say hi?"

Serena froze midway through cleaning her left hand's ring finger, which had an odd proliferation of grease on it except for at the very base. She stopped looking at her finger, wondering why the grease had failed to cover her whole finger there as it had the others, especially since she didn't wear a ring. Instead, she stared at the video game's guts, the wires and lights and metal and wished for an instant that she could be like that: simple, mechanical, easy to fix.

"He didn't tell you?" Serena finally said, softly, lowly, so the customers behind them wouldn't hear. Andrew shot Serena a confused look and a nod—probably in Darien's direction as he walked toward the parlor half of the game center, completely unaware of Serena's presence—before squatting back down.

"Didn't tell me what?"

Serena sucked in a breath. She hadn't wanted this, hadn't planned this. Rather, "this" wasn't part of the rest of the unplanned mess that her life already was in. She didn't need the added stress of Darien failing to tell his best friend that he'd broken up with her. That would just make things awkward, wouldn't it? For an instant, Serena felt a stabbing of white-hot rage toward Darien; how dare he put her in this position? What did he expect to gain from this? She couldn't afford to think hopefully, to imagine that if Darien hadn't told Andrew, his **best friend in the entire world**, that maybe he hadn't really wanted to break up with her, that he'd screwed up somehow and was, in fact, at this very moment, contemplating ways of asking her to come back to him.

Serena shook her head. It was stupid to think that way, especially now.

"Darien broke up with me over three months ago," she said plainly. Serena gave herself a mental pat on the back for that one: she'd handled it well. Hadn't been a crying ball, hadn't been shouting. She'd just stated the facts, as they were, as they would always be.

_'This is good. If I can just keep this up, then I really will be able to…maybe someday, move on…'_ The words sounded fickle even as Serena thought them. Get over the person she'd been destined to be with for two lifetimes? Move on from dying for him, for his world?

_'One step at a time,'_ Serena reminded herself, even as her heart seemed to clench in pain. She hoped she wasn't wincing now; she didn't need to show it to Andrew. She wasn't going to play for his sympathy and put him between her and his best friend. She wouldn't do that to Andrew; he'd been too kind to her.

"Whoa," Andrew said, leaning back on his haunches. "News to me."

Serena swallowed, trying to think of a decent reply, a way to be mature about all this, but the words she'd been keeping inside burbled forth anyway. "I'm surprised myself, actually. I would have thought…well, I figured he would have told you."

"You and me both," Andrew said quietly. "Hell, if he'd even been thinking of it, I would have—" Andrew stopped himself abruptly, and Serena had a sinking sensation she knew what he was going to say.

"Warned me?" she asked with a wry grin. Andrew frowned, looking at her, as if the expression on her face were all wrong. "No…" Serena trailed off. _'"No, you wouldn't have," or "No, I wouldn't have listened to you anyway?" Both? Neither? "I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure?"'_ She gave up trying to think of the right words to say and just shook her head.

"It doesn't matter now, it's in the past." She tried to keep her voice steady as she said it, but for some reason, she hiccupped midway through the word 'past' and started crying. She cursed herself mentally; this was an awful time to get emotional, for her to be having these mood swings into sudden and abject depression, but she couldn't help it! The doctor had warned her about this, along with the very wide range of ways morning sickness could manifest itself. It seemed as if fate decreed that Serena go through every single one, along with every single mood swing known to humanity.

"Serena, I…" Andrew seemed to fumble for words, and for some reason, him doing that made her cry all the harder. She stood up and mopped her face with her apron before daring to speak.

"I'm sorry. If you don't mind, I'll take my lunch now."

"No," Andrew said, rising to his feet. "But—"

"I won't go to the parlor. I'll be back in an hour," Serena said, refusing to elaborate. She wouldn't go to the parlor; she couldn't be near Darien. And she couldn't explain to Andrew that she was sorry for telling him in the first place, even though he should have known, whether through Darien himself or simple observation thereof. But she couldn't start faulting Andrew—he was one of the last rocks left in her life, and he wasn't even 'hers.' She couldn't come between him and Darien, and she'd probably done just that by telling Andrew nothing more than the truth.

_'Hurricane Serena strikes again,'_ she thought despairingly as she removed her apron and headed out the back door. An hour and a bowl of steaming ramen later, all this would be forgotten, Darien would be gone, and Andrew would probably never speak of it again, right?

Serena told herself this would be so, nodded firmly, and headed off toward her favorite ramen restaurant only a block away.

* * *

Hours later, Serena was wiping the monitors of two video game screens at once while using her foot to direct a sponge on the floor to wipe up a soda spill. A local newspaper lay open on a nearby stool to the classified section. Serena was idly glancing at the available apartment rentals, making a mental note of which ones to circle for later and follow up on. She was so absorbed by the description of one nearby apartment that she didn't even notice Andrew approaching her from behind, awkwardly scratching the back of his head and walking slowly only to stop and then start walking toward her again.

"Uh, Serena?"

Serena snapped out of her stupor and pushed her foot just a little too far, sending the sponge shooting out from under it with a loud sploosh. She tipped forward and almost fell, but Andrew caught her, both arms wrapped around her midsection. Serena glanced up at him, swallowing nervously before whispering "Thanks."

Andrew didn't let go of her immediately, and for the briefest of instants, Serena felt cold terror slice through her core. Andrew wasn't just looking at her, he was looking **through** her, like he never had before. But just as suddenly as the feeling lanced through her, it faded away. Andrew's grip on her lessened and Serena found her footing—and found Andrew's gaze directed at the apartment listings in the newspaper.

"I wanted to talk to you about earlier but…what's this all about?" Andrew picked up the newspaper.

"I…uh…" Serena hesitated. She'd been thinking about telling Andrew for some time now, but not now—not like this. But what could she do? "I'm actually looking for a place." Honesty was the best policy, right? She had nothing to gain by continuing to lie to Andrew, especially not about something like this.

Andrew drew closer to her, and Serena found herself swallowing another acidic lump that had somehow worked its way into her throat. Her gaze darted around them, but there were no customers in sight.

"Why, Serena?" His voice was soft, barely above a whisper, but Serena could tell he wasn't demanding an answer out of her, wasn't accusing her of anything. He wanted to know because he was Andrew, the closest person she had to a big brother now, a dear friend, and he **cared**! But he was looking at her with a new softness in his eyes that she'd never seen before, not even when he was looking at Rita, his girlfriend. Serena didn't know what to make of it.

_'I—I have enough stuff that I'm not sure about, don't I? I can't have this too! He either knows or…or I'm going to tell him, right now.' _It didn't matter how he'd figured it out: if it was because he'd grabbed her just now and felt the swell of her belly, or if he'd noticed her wild eating habits and even wilder mood swings, sending her crying into the back room or growling at every stuck coin.

"I—I'm…" The words were there, but they just wouldn't come.

Andrew took a deep breath and gently gripped Serena's shoulders, his expression suddenly clear and full of concern. "Serena, are you pregnant?"

Her eyes widened and she froze in his arms, still as a statue. It seemed to be answer enough for Andrew, who dropped his hands to his sides and stood ramrod straight.

"There were a few signs, but I never really put them together, never would have considered—" He sighed and shook his head, now looking angry. When his eyes opened again, he still looked mad, but at himself, not her. "First, it was you wanting to get a job, even when you seemed so busy before." Andrew scoffed. "You know, Darien may have gone out with you, but that doesn't mean I knew anything about you: whether you were in any after school clubs, how you met Raye or Mina, or why you've always looked so tired on those days when you could come in."

Andrew raked a hand through his hair and stared at the floor, his gaze only rising a fraction. "Then I noticed how you tied your apron."

This surprised Serena, and she found herself fingering her apron ties, but unable to utter so much as a peep.

"First it was high on your waist, but then you got lower and lower on your hips. Heck, you even stopped having shakes and sodas during your short breaks, and when you did eat here, it was always something," Andrew made a face that almost had Serena giggling were it not for the sheer seriousness of the situation. "_Sensible_," Andrew finally said, almost derisively. "Totally unlike a junior high girl who shouldn't have to worry about her figure at all."

Serena would have beamed with happiness at the compliment were it not for the fact that she felt like a sinking ship.

"And then…" Andrew shook the newspaper at her, just once. "This?" He shook his head. "The places in this are all small and overpriced." He tossed the newspaper into a nearby trash bin, much to Serena's astonishment. She glanced from her discarded newspaper to Andrew, her mouth forming the shape of an "o."

"I've got a place to show you," Andrew said.

Serena stared at him for a long minute, too afraid to blink lest everything that had just happened in the past few minutes end up being something she imagined. Was this really happening? Someone being understanding, not making judgments about her age, about the fact that she was pregnant, about whether or not Darien was the father of her child or if her parents knew?

She could feel one of those awful mood swings bubbling up in her again, but Serena simply didn't have the willpower to stop it this time. She burst into tears and gratefully let Andrew draw her into his arms, which instead of feeling restricting, felt safe and warm and **right**.

Unbeknownst to both Serena and Andrew, across the street, Darien had a perfect view into the arcade where they were standing, embracing. He wanted to know why, but a face not unlike the one buried in Andrew's arms right now stopped him.

No, he was doing the right thing by staying far away.

* * *

Serena was still smiling at the look of utter shock on her mother's face when she came downstairs without having been awoken by an alarm clock, Luna, or her brother hollering at her…on a Saturday!

Her grin seemed contagious, as Andrew smiled just as widely at her when she met him on the top landing of an outdoor staircase at an apartment complex that she vaguely recognized as Andrew's own.

"Hey! Glad you could make it."

Serena rolled her eyes. "You think I'd sleep in?"

Andrew chuckled and tugged at his t-shirt collar. "Well…"

"So, where's this place you've got to show me?" Serena leaned toward him and smirked playfully. "You're not planning on offering **your** place, are you?"

Andrew's cheeks burned a suspicious shade of pink, but he shook his head. "If it came to that, I wouldn't mind subletting, but—" Andrew cut himself off and started down the stairs. "But hopefully, it won't come to that. Besides, you're going to need more space than I've got in my shoebox of an apartment."

Serena blinked and sealed her lips; was Andrew serious? She hadn't expected him to be so serious, to be so kind, to be so…so understanding. Andrew was always the older brother figure Serena felt comfortable with, that she could trust (for the most part), but that would always make her feel better by telling a joke and offering her a strawberry milkshake. Suddenly he seemed so much older, so much wiser, and something else Serena couldn't quite name just yet.

"Anyway, you've just got to remember two words: play along."

With that, Andrew tugged her down a short flight of stairs and led her to a door that opened before they even got in front of it. An older woman opened the door, a cigarette hanging out of her lipsticked mouth.

"This the one, Furuhata?"

Andrew nodded firmly. "Yes. Mrs. Yamato, this is Serena. She's a freshman with me at K University, and has been looking for a place. I know you've got that lovely studio down a floor that's getting dusty…"

"A freshman, huh? You don't look it," Mrs. Yamato said, taking a long drag on her cigarette and exhaling the smoke from the corner of her mouth.

"I get that a lot," Serena said with a nervous smile. "I'm from a family of pretty petite ladies, so…" Serena trailed off purposefully, hoping Mrs. Yamato wouldn't keep interrogating her.

"What're you studying?" Mrs. Yamato asked, taking a different tack.

Serena swallowed. "Anatomy, at the moment," she lied, perhaps a little ironically. "I'm hoping to get into pre-med by the time I'm a junior." She chanced a quick look in Andrew's general direction, only to find him staring at her wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open a little. When Mrs. Yamato's gaze snaped toward him, he quickly masked his expression of surprise.

"You a responsible girl, Serena? Pay your rent on time?"

"Actually," Serena admitted, "this'll be my first time away from my parents. But much as I love them, I think it's time for me to be independent, and part of that is being responsible and paying my rent on time."

This seemed to be magical words for Mrs. Yamato, who nodded sagely. "Well, you sound good. Let me show you the place and you can tell me what you think."

Serena beamed at Mrs. Yamato, who chuckled and stubbed out the remainder of her cigarette on a nearby railing before tossing the butt into a soot-covered ceramic bowl near her door. Andrew grinned back at Serena and offered her his elbow, which she happily linked her own arm through as they made their way down another flight of stairs to what would hopefully soon be Serena's new home.

* * *

"Well, that went great!"

Serena smiled wanly at Andrew and spun slowly, looking at her new apartment. It was larger than she ever could have expected, and she had no idea why grumpy Mrs. Yamato was being so understanding or at least…nice. Neither she nor Andrew had revealed Serena was pregnant, but they'd cross that bridge when they got to it. She, just like everyone else, would have to find out sooner or later.

"Usually people say that when they're being sarcastic, but…you're being honest, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course!" Andrew exclaimed. "I can't believe we pulled that off!" Andrew heaved a sigh. "Nursing, huh? Are you sure you don't want to change your fake major to acting? You did a great job!"

Serena frowned. "I hate lying, but until I get this emancipation thing figured out…" she trailed off. "I can't thank you enough for this, Andrew."

Andrew smiled at her warmly. "You don't have to thank me, Sere," he said softly, his eyes trained on her.

Serena turned to face him, sunset bleeding into the room through the uncovered windows behind her. Though what Andrew saw was her distinct silhouette, what Serena saw was an incredible friend with a slightly red face and a mega-watt smile. A friend she'd just openly admitted she hated lying to, but…that she was lying to, with each passing minute.

The weight of her transformation brooch weighed heavy in Serena's pocket, even though it had been a while since she'd had to use it. It didn't matter how long it had been since she'd last transformed into Sailor Moon: it was who she was, not just what she did. And that meant she couldn't keep hiding it anymore.

"Andrew, there's something I've got to tell you—"

"Serena, you don't have to."

"No, I do, really—I can't keep this any longer—"

"You have to tell your parents first," Andrew interrupted, and effectively took the thought of admitting the truth right out of Serena's mouth.

"You're right," she admitted softly. "It is time. But I—I don't know what I'm going to say! My father will probably kill me, my mother will be so disappointed in me, I—"

"I'll go with you," Andrew said bluntly.

Serena shook her head. "And what? Take responsibility for something that's got nothing to do with you? Andrew, I can't let you do that!" The thought of him sitting where Darien should be, of him squeezing her hand and facing her father's stony gaze and her mother's tears stung painfully. Years ago, the thought of having this conversation hadn't even crossed her mind. But in recent months, she'd thought about it a lot, practically every day, terrified of the prospect of it sneaking up on her the way this whole pregnancy had.

It hadn't—yet, and for that, Serena knew to count her blessings.

"And I'm supposed to watch someone I care about do something hard on her own?"

Serena squeezed her eyes shut and sat down slowly on the hardwood floor that made up the apartment's entryway. "Andrew, I do appreciate everything you've done for me, but—"

"Serena—" Andrew interrupted again, but this time Serena cut him off, staring up at him sharply, her blue eyes brilliant in the dying sunlight.

"Darien's not the father," she said bluntly. It was a truth she hadn't told anyone yet, and it felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her body.

Andrew's eyes widened, and his knees seemed to give, and soon he was sitting in front of her, knee to knee. "Your—father?" he croaked.

"No! No, no, no!" Serena exclaimed, astonished that Andrew would even suggest it.

"Your brother, then?" Andrew mumbled.

"No—" Serena sighed, suddenly feeling defeated. The weight was back on her shoulders, and it was time again for the lies to end. But what were the right words? What could she ever **say**?

Suddenly, as if the sun had suddenly risen again, the weight Serena felt shifted into her pocket, and her hand with it. If she couldn't find the right words to say, then she would know what to **show** Andrew so he would understand. Three simple words, and hopefully then, everything would make sense to him.

She rose to her feet and pivoted away from Andrew. She didn't know how to introduce what she was about to do, if there were even any words worth saying. _'Don't tell my friends I did this'_? or perhaps _'Pay attention, but don't look 'cause in a second I'll be naked for about one tenth of a second'_?

"Andrew—" The words got clogged up in her throat again. She wanted to thank Andrew again, to tell him that he was the closest thing she had to a best friend now, that she loved him in a way different than she'd ever known. Maybe the words would come easier after this was all said and done.

She gripped the Crystal Star compact in her pocket and withdrew it in one fluid motion borne of plenty of experience making this exact same motion.

"Moon Crystal Power!"

* * *

"Do you mind—I mean, letting them think that you're—"

"I don't mind," Andrew said, squeezing Serena's hand.

They had just left Serena's old home having told her parents (thankfully, both Sammy and Rini were at school and would be told the truth—or something like it—by the Tsukino parents after they came home) a half-truth about the situation: that Serena was pregnant but keeping the baby and had both a job and a new home secured. Needless to say, it wasn't a one-sided conversation: Mr. Tsukino quickly grew angry, first at Andrew, then at Serena, while Mrs. Tsukino stared in shock and then burst into tears.

As for Luna, she hadn't been at the house at the time Serena and Andrew had showed up, either. She was likely out and about with Artemis, but as soon as she returned home and overheard what Serena's parents were talking about, she'd probably go to the girls. There wasn't a whole lot Serena could do about that, though, and all she could do at this point was wait.

"You think—you think it might have been easier if I'd just told them the whole truth?" Serena said, stopping halfway down the sidewalk from her house, letting go of Andrew's hand. She gripped her brooch with her other hand.

"And put them in danger, too? I think you took enough of a chance with me, Serena," Andrew said, having turned around to face her and grip her shoulders, a gesture that was becoming increasingly frequent between them. He met her gaze, and she met his, and she knew he was being honest with her.

"I didn't take a chance with you, Andrew. I know I can trust you," Serena said quietly. Whether she could trust the Black Moon not to kidnap Andrew and hurt him and his family was an entirely other matter. In the meantime, she was goingto do everything she could to protect him, though it wasn't as if there'd been any recent attacks to protect Andrew **from**. Serena was decidedly wary about that fact: even without having talked to the other girls about anything Sailor Soldier-related lately (especially the fact that she'd told Andrew her secret), she did realize that the fewer small attacks that were happening, the more likely that they were building up to something big.

"You're right. I mean, it's one thing for me to tell them I'm pregnant, but if I told them I was still a virgin, an alien, and a superhero, I think they both would have had heart attacks."

Andrew chuckled. "You're lucky I'm so young and healthy, because when you finally told me that whole story, I almost keeled over, too."

"You know, that's not really the **whole** story," Serena said with a sly smile, beginning to walk back down the street with her arm linked through Andrew's. She was amazed she'd made it this far without throwing up or bursting into loud sobs herself, but she attributed that to Andrew's continuing presence.

"What, you're going to tell me now that Darien's part of this whole story too, and he's not really human, he's from Mars?"

"Actually, that's Raye," Serena blurted before covering her hands with her mouth. "I—I probably shouldn't have said that. I should have let her tell you. I mean, if I ever—they don't know either, and they're going to be even harder to talk to than my parents were…"

"Actually, I'd already figured that much out," Andrew said. "Just tell me if I get any wrong: Mina's Sailor Venus, Amy's Sailor Mercury, you just told me Raye's Mars, so that would make Lita Sailor Jupiter, right?"

Serena pursed her lips but nodded once, briefly. _'They're so going to have my head on a stick when they find out…!'_

A short while later, Serena and Andrew were sitting in a sun-warmed part of her new and completely empty apartment.

"Do you believe in destiny, Andrew?" Serena asked, staring at the play of lights that her Silver Crystal created on the walls when the sunlight hit it.

"I uh…I don't know, actually. I guess I'm waiting to see what life brings me."

"Sounds like you do believe in it then," Serena teased. "Waiting for what life brings you, instead of seeing what you can bring to your own life?" She let out a sigh.

"'Why should my whole life be guided by what happened in my past?'…those were his words. I'll never forget them."

Andrew immediately became sober. "That what Darien said when he—No, you know what? He's a jerk, how about we never talk about him again?"

"Andrew!" Serena was genuinely astonished that Andrew would say something like that about his supposed best friend. Suddenly, she felt like she was driving a wedge between Andrew and Darien, all without even trying. She took a deep breath and said, "Andrew, he may have hurt me a lot by breaking up with me, but he's not a jerk for it."

"What—? Serena, how can you say that? He's been treating you like a jerk since practically Day One!"

Serena cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you've been friends with that 'jerk' since Day One, right?"

Andrew sighed defeatedly. "He wasn't that bad back then. He changed, and—not for the better."

"So while he was actually with me, huh?" Serena's chin dropped to her chest. "Things were good for a while. Then he went and forgot about me, and when he finally remembered, things were good again, until—"

"Until he decided to be a jerk again?" Andrew completed.

"…I'm sure he had his reasons," Serena said lamely, her voice barely above a whisper. Like so many things she'd said lately, it was easier to say the words than it was to actually believe them. But part of her still desperately wanted to believe in Darien, if only because all of their fights together, all of their trials and tribulations hadn't brought them to this point only for him to refuse to acknowledge what made Endymion as much a part of him as Serenity was to Serena herself.

"I'm sure," Andrew retorted. "Doesn't mean they were good ones. Hey—" Andrew edged closer to Serena, the look in his eyes shifting from angry to concerned. "Does he know? About—?" He put a palm on Serena's belly, and Serena could feel warmth spreading from there all the way through her. So far, he was the only one besides the doctors that she dared let touch her like this: the only one that knew and that made her feel safe, trusted, and loved.

"No," Serena said quietly. "I don't even think he has a clue how this all probably happened."

"'Probably'?" Andrew echoed. "I thought you said—"

"Virgin alien superhero. Yeah, I am. Andrew, remember how I said all of that wasn't the whole story?" She waited until he nodded slowly, watching as the confusion grew in his eyes. "I wasn't always Sailor Moon. Actually, Sailor Moon's not supposed to exist."

Andrew went from looking confused to looking absolutely flabbergasted. "What do you mean? I mean—a world without Sailor Moon? We'd be overrun with monsters!"

Serena smiled faintly. "A thousand years ago, Sailor Moon didn't exist because she–I–didn't have a reason to. The other Sailor Soldiers were enough. But then tensions with Earth got to a breaking point, and people that didn't like the idea of Lunarians being so long-lived decided to make a pact with a force they didn't understand and—and well, it led to their downfall. Everyone's downfall."

"'A thousand years ago'?" Andrew parroted.

"Andrew, I'm actually not just a virgin alien superhero. I'm also a princess."

* * *

Serena turned the key in the lock and settled on her couch after closing the door. She had just returned from work at the arcade, and was still marveling about the fact that she lived alone. This place was great.

Only a month in, and already, she had made friends with her neighbor, figured out a payment plan with Mrs. Yamato, and gotten acquainted with her surroundings. From her old house, she had her dresser set, all her clothes, and of course, all her jewelry, Sailor V posters and games, her hair clips, dresses…

_'But no Luna.'_ Luna had indeed overheard Serena's parents talking about Serena's move-out, but luckily, there'd been some sort of unspoken vow not to talk about the fact that she was moving out because she was pregnant with, as far as they knew, Andrew's love child. So Serena had been able to meet up with the girls at Luna at an impromptu meeting at the temple and, without finding the courage to tell them the whole truth, did manage to say she was moving out of her parents' place—for their own safety. This explanation practically floored the girls, but there was beauty in its simplicity: there was no way they could argue against it.

And if there was any chance that the Black Moon **could** target the Tsukinos, Luna could stay with them as a guard. It was certainly easier than finding out if Serena could even have Luna at the apartment, let alone afford her within her meager budget.

Serena had come up with this argument with Andrew's help, though she had yet to tell the girls about why she was living in the same apartment complex as Andrew, why she was working at the arcade, and of course, that Andrew knew their secret. But they were slowly growing more accustomed to Serena being indepdent and on her own, and seemed to be liking the changes in her personality that living alone brought with it. Each time they stayed over for a sleepover, Serena grew increasingly tempted to just spill the beans and tell them everything: about the pregnancy, the dreams about her past as Serenity and being with Endymion, about Andrew and what he'd done for her and why she'd told him their secret…. She just hadn't gotten around to it. Yet.

It was kind of lonely, and rather quiet, especially when the girls weren't there for sleepovers. But since the lull in attacks occurred after the destruction of Rubeus, there had been no attacks, no reason for Sailor Soldier meetings, and thus, hardly any time to hang out.

Serena knew they were all friends for reasons beyond being soldiers together, and they weren't just her friends because they had to protect her in the guise of the princess. After all, she was friends with them all long before they became soldiers and before any of them remembered the slightest thing about the Moon Kingdom or its princess.

_'And as friends, shouldn't they know?'_ Serena asked herself, patting her slightly swollen stomach. Serena reached for her phone to call the girls, and then hesitated. Wouldn't the best way to get their attention be to use the communicators? She pulled the small watch-like object from its place in her purse, and was about to push the star-shaped button when something beeped.

Serena pressed the buttons and heard a garbled voice and some heavy static.

"Sailor Soldiers…attack…Ichinohashi Park…Rini…"

Serena could barely make out Sailor Mercury's voice, but the main words: 'Rini' and 'attack' caught her attention in a net.

Serena didn't even respond, just headed to the area where her instincts—and that bright violet and golden light—told her to go.

* * *

Serena immediately transformed, and noticed the soldier outfit did nothing for her 'current situation'. Only the visually adept would notice.

'Please_ don't let Amy use her VR visor today..._please_…'_ Serena prayed, completing the transformation. She thought she'd been ready to tell the girls, but not like this. Not in the middle of a battle.

She arrived on the scene in time to see Rini's light show die down, and an evil droid take its arm away from its eyes, now that the bright light had died down considerably. The thing was about to attack Rini again when Sailor Moon interfered.

"Hey you! I won't let you attack innocent children, because in the name of the moon, I will punish you!" Sailor Moon completed her pose, and was sure to look for Mercury. She was nowhere to be found.

"Sailor Moon!" Rini cried, attaching herself to Sailor Moon's leg. Sailor Moon patted her pink head in reassurance, hoping to calm the frightened girl down.

_'Don't look up, don't look up…'_ Sailor Moon prayed. It was more than likely Rini wouldn't care what she looked like, and if she did, it would come out in the form of an insult, but Serena didn't know. _'What if in Rini's time, children are given sex ed as early as four?'_ Sailor Moon pried Rini off her leg and kneeled down beside her, in order to make her stomach 'invisible'.

"Rini, where's Amy?"

Rini burst into tears suddenly, and Sailor Moon was presented with an angry droid, a frightened girl…and she was all alone.

"MUAWWAWWRR!" the female-looking droid yelled obscurely. This was the first droid that didn't talk animatedly.

"Sailor Moon, watch out for that droid's camera! It takes pictures of people and makes them disappear!" Rini cried from behind Sailor Moon's defensive position.

Something about that phrase stuck Sailor Moon as familiar and she suddenly knew why.

_'One of Nephrite's monsters was like that…and in order to reflect the attack, I needed a mirror.'_ Sailor Moon, on instinct, grabbed her brooch tightly and sent Rini to a safe haven behind some bushes.

"All right Negasleaze, show me what you've got!"

"MUAAWRRRRR!" was the response as the droid charged, attempting a head butt. Sailor Moon slid out of the way, and the droid was stuck, horns and all, in a tree. Its head was covered in fur and leaves, and so it couldn't see. It launched an attack at Sailor Moon with its free hand, which Sailor Moon reflected with the mirror in her brooch. The fur and leaves flew, and the droid was weak enough to be dusted. But Amy!

Walking up to the droid and holding it fiercely by the horns, she demanded it tell her where Sailor Mercury was.

"Mwaawwwr!" came the weakened response. Groaning, Sailor Moon threw her arms up in the air. This was the chance the droid needed. It wedged its horns from the tree trunk and charged, capturing Sailor Moon in its grip. Sailor Moon struggled hopelessly, kicking and punching the droid. She landed one hit on its soldier, but it didn't seem to do anything for her release.

Little did she know that Sailor Mercury was released, for its weak spot was where she had hit it. The droid hadn't reacted much, for it was already weak, and it was too focused on its prey to think of the other pretty soldier.

* * *

Sailor Mercury awoke somewhat groggily, just barely remembering her call to the soldiers…a loud thump, and the salty taste in her mouth. There was a bright flash, and then she went black. Now she was lying on the soft, freshly cut grass of the park, and she heard noises.

"UNNGH! Let me go, Negatrash!" It was Sailor Moon, and from what Mercury could make out, the other soldiers hadn't arrived yet. Thinking perhaps her vision would clear once she activated her visor, she did so. Her vision was no longer blurred, as her deep blue eyes could make out the rapidly flashing scans of the droid and Sailor Moon.

Getting up and opening her pocket computer, Sailor Mercury scanned the droid again to find out what happened. Suddenly, she heard a soft beeping in her ear, where the microphone to the computer was connected. Looking at her findings, Mercury stared.

"Three life-forms?" she breathed. She looked up, deactivated her visor, and still only saw Sailor Moon and the droid. Her computer beeped again, and Mercury's heart lodged in her throat.

_'She's—she's…'_ Even Sailor Mercury's genius mind couldn't complete the thought. It was simply too impossible to comprehend. Well, not **impossible**, but…completely unexpected!

"SAILOR MOON!" Mercury screamed, terrified about what would happen to her best friend, her leader…and the fetus, if the droid succeeded. The droid turned in surprise, allowing Sailor Moon the chance to knee it and squirm free. Mercury launched her Aqua Illusion attack, freezing the creature long enough for Sailor Moon to destroy it with a Moon Sceptre Elimination.

Sailor Moon collapsed to her knees and then to her side, unconscious. The energy drain almost triple the normal amount, and even with all the practice she'd gotten in the past year or more, it was simply too much for her body in its current state to handle.

"SAILOR MOON!"

"Mercury, what happened? Are you all right?" Jupiter yelled, just arriving.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Mercury found herself saying.

"Is she okay?" Venus asked. Mercury didn't tell them how Sailor Moon had been so completely drained, that because she was supporting another life inside of her, every time she transformed, attacked and was attacked, it drained her immensely.

"She'll be soon. Let's get her to some place warm," Mercury said, noting the cool breeze blowing through the park.

"Ungh…" Mars limped onto the scene, prompting Mercury to ask what had happened.

"We got attacked by another droid on the way here; that's why we're late. Both mine and Venus' arms got beaten, and Mars here is on a sprained ankle," Jupiter informed her.

"Oh dear, how are we supposed to get her anywhere?" Mercury asked, motioning to their leader. The girls shook their heads in response, not knowing what to do.

"I'll help," a distinctly male voice announced. The four soldiers turned in surprise, and were faced with Tuxedo Mask. He immediately went over to Sailor Moon, and picked her up. Jupiter and Venus tried to help, but their arms were too sore to keep lifting. As Mars couldn't walk very well in the first place, Mercury helped her as she led the way.

The foursome de-transformed, leaving only Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon transformed. The four girls hurriedly rushed the tall man holding his beloved into the lobby of the apartment complex that was Serena's home, hoping they would go unseen.

When they finally reached the elevator at the end of the hall, Tuxedo Mask broke the silence.

"Why are we here?"

"We're bringing Serena home, of course," Raye responded simply. Then she flushed scarlet, remembering that Darien didn't know that Serena had moved. In the darkness of the night, he also didn't recogize that it was the same apartment complex as Andrew's, though it wasn't as if he'd spoken very much to his supposed best friend in the past few months at all. In fact, Andrew was the furthest thing fromTuxedo Mask's mind that night as he shouldered his way into the elevator that he'd actually been in plenty of times before….

But he didn't say anything; he only looked puzzled. When the elevator chimed to say it had reached the floor Serena lived on, the girls rushed out.

They reached a door marked "630" and bearing a nameplate to the side that read "Serena Tsukino" in bold pink marker with a cute rabbit drawing beside it.

Raye reached under the pink welcome mat and pulled out a key. After manipulating the lock for a few minutes, she got it to open, and stumbled onto the off-white recliner Serena had in the main room. The other girls followed suit, with Mina and Lita going to the bathroom to tend to their arm wounds.

Tuxedo Mask took off his mask and hat, and lay Sailor Moon on the black leather couch beside the recliner. Amy started to scan her, hoping Darien didn't notice anything.

Tuxedo Mask looked around in surprise. This was definitely Serena's own apartment; her photos of her and her friends, posters of Sailor V and bouquet after bouquet of red roses—unfortunately few, if any of them were real—decked the walls and end tables.

But since when did Serena have her own apartment? It was a nice place, to say the least. Neater than Darien would have expected from Hurricane Serena, but still characteristic of her style. Contrasting black and white furniture, a checkered kitchen floor with black fridge and white countertops, a cream colored carpet and curtains leading out to the balcony, bleach-white walls and doors, and several glass cabinets to house her television, small figurines and books.

There were a few doors: one which he assumed led to the bedroom, one for the bathroom, and two more.

"Serena lets us stay here sometimes, because she's got two guest bedrooms, and the recliner and the couch fold out," Amy explained, seeing his inquiring glance. However, how in the name of Mercury she afforded this condo-like residence was beyond her.

"I think we better stay here tonight," Raye said from the recliner. Amy agreed wordlessly, and the other two girls emerging from the bathroom voiced their opinions.

"Yeah, she might get drained again or something, so we should keep watch."

"Everyone's room?" Mina asked. Mina and Amy each had their own sleeping areas toward the back of the apartment, while Raye preferred to sleep on the recliner by the fireplace and Lita on the long folding sofa.

"Yeah." Amy wanted to stay out in the living room, make sure that no one disturbed or found out about Serena's obviously private secret, especially Darien.

"Uh, Darien, why don't you help carry Serena into her bedroom, and I'll stay in there, make sure she's okay. You can have my room." Amy wasn't entirely sure this was the best idea, but it might be the smartest one—at the moment. She wondered if Serena would appreciate Darien in her home, so close to what had clearly been a closely-guarded secret. Surely Darien didn't already know, else he'd be showing a great deal more concern, right?

But Amy was never particularly skilled at reading people, and even as she scrutinized Darien's face from a sideways angle, she couldn't tell what he did—or didn't—know. So she had to act normal. As normal as they all were, being Sailor Soldiers and Serena's friends and…guardian. Or whatever Tuxedo Mask considered himself these days.

"All right." Darien gently hoisted Serena into his arms, the girl sleeping so softly and peacefully, one might think she was having a pleasant dream….

* * *

It was happening all over again, only this time more intense. She had flashes of when she and Endymion first met, first snuck past guards late at night to see each other, their first kiss…and then, the first time they made love. It was actually the only time, because if memory and dreams were serving Serena correctly, a mere three weeks passed between that date and the day of destruction. They hadn't exactly had time for secret rondevous after he'd announced his engagement….

The announcement had thrown his kingdom into an uproar: their prince, marrying a Lunarian? Or, "Our Prince, marrying so soon, when he has a kingdom to rule?!" or "Of course, a **princess**. No, our duchess was too low for him!"

It was all stuff and rubbish of course, but there was only one truly jealous person: Beryl. She had been a loyal member of the Earth's court for many years, and her parents before that. But perhaps out of her sadness, anger, jealousy and desperation, Beryl turned to the dark arts. It was one thing to discover "her beloved Prince" was engaged to a Princess…but to a Lunarian?!

And that year, when the sun's heavy activity released the great energy needed to spawn the evil known as Metallia, Beryl conjured her, and allowed her to feed on the doubts of humankind. Each human had doubts, and Metallia fed upon them, changing all people to the ways of darkness. Even Endymion's guards.

"Serenity, the situation is getting worse on Earth. I'm afraid I can't make it for your birthday…." Endymion had told her over communications. Serenity sighed, knowing this day would come. She had no right to be disappointed, the Earth people hated her, and never wanted this marriage to be, so they fought with each other over it until the Crown Prince was forced to stay on Earth, and resume his duty as ruler.

But Endymion **did** make it that day, despite the fights. They shared such a lovely time, but something nagged Serenity.

_'I should tell Endymion the wonderful news, but something isn't right…' _Serenity thought. There was that bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, which was slightly swollen and growing with child.

"Endymion, I need to tell you something."

* * *

Serena still slept peacefully, though her dream had come to a rather broken end. Darien deposited her in her bedroom, mentally taking note of everything present: a few books piled on an end table with a decorative lamp adorning the tabletop, a small bunny-shaped clock on her desk and another on her end table, shaped like a bird of some sort, various pictures of Serena and the girls, one of Serena, Andrew and Lizzy and another of her and Darien. That last frame was cracked in the far right corner, which Darien regarded as strange, but he didn't know exactly why.

_'This is so…un-Serena-like,'_ Darien thought absently as he looked over the room. _'But then, you haven't really seen her, been with her, known how she's felt these past few months.'_ It was now January, five months since he had broken up with her…. Darien shoved the feelings aside and walked out of her room, leaving a perplexed Amy staring after him and his formerly sad gaze.

_'He _does_ still love her…'_ Amy thought, unfolding the spare futon Serena kept in her closet. She picked up one of Serena's books on parenting, and settled down into the futon-chair to read.

* * *

The perfect moment…Serena, swathed in delicate white silk, made her way slowly down the aisle of the church.

_'Heel, Toe, Heel, Toe…'_ Serena said to herself in a soft breathy whisper. It seemed like hours later by the time she arrived at the altar. She was rather impatient, but for Darien, she would wait. She smiled as she thought how his eyes had nearly fallen out of his sockets on her arrival at the head of the aisle.

_'I guess he likes my dress.'_ It was white, of course, with a tight fitting bodice that accented her curves nicely. Curled lace spiraled over her chest and to her shoulders, lightly covered with  
small cap sleeves. Her arms were bare until her elbows, where the fabric gathered and collected in a mass of silk to form gloves. The dress slimmed to her hips, then flared outward in a cascade of white.

"You may now kiss the bride," the priest said. They'd only said a few sentences, and she'd practiced them so many times, they came without needing to think.

Darien lifted the tulle veil and gulped lightly. Serena smiled, a faint hue of rosy pink tinting her cheeks. Darien gathered her into his arms and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. Cheers were heard from the crowd of bridesmaids in the corner, and loud sobs from Serena's mother. After an eternity, they broke apart, and laughing, ran down the aisle.

Rice was thrown from every corner of the church, and bottles of champagne were popped and dribbled onto the floor.

"What a lucky girl," some girl commented.

_'How right she is. I am the luckiest girl alive.'  
_

Just as they were out of the church, the ground shook violently.

"Darien?" She looked at him while tightening her grip on his arm. He had a strange expression on his face, one that was calm and eerily dark at the same time. He was holding onto her hand as if letting go would make her fall into—into the chasm forming beneath their feet!

"Darien!" Serena yelled as the tremors became worse, and screams ensued as the earth crumbled around them. The ground between Darien and Serena split into two, and Serena yelled.

"Darien!" Her bouquet was lost in the rubble as she floated away into the light.

"Serena!" Darien screamed, terrified.

But she was gone, vanished from sight. But she was still there somehow, because she could still feel Darien's presence, could still sense him out there. She just couldn't reach far enough, couldn't get his attention. And in the meanwhile, Darien was wheeling around, staring into the chaos of floating rubble looking the most desperate and anguished she had ever seen him.

"Stay away from Princess Serenity!" a mysterious voice boomed. It made Serena shiver upon hearing it; it was both familiar and…not. It bothered her that she couldn't place it, but part of her didn't want to. She was afraid of what it might mean if she could.

"I WON'T!" Darien shouted back.

"You must, the very future lies in the balance."

"NO!"

"She will die…" the voice trailed off, leaving Serena to wonder if there was more to it than that. Of course she would die. Someday. But…if she was with Darien? If they got married? What was the conditional the voice was trying to impress upon Darien? And why **him**, why not her, as if all the decisions had to be left to Darien alone?

"SERENA!" Darien gasped, his face pale. Suddenly he wheeled around, and Serena felt him staring right at her, right through her…but he couldn't see. Whatever link they'd forged had suddenly and forcibly been broken, and all she could feel when his eyes swept over the space that she occupied was…cold. There was nothing anymore.

_'No, Darien…'_ Had he given up on her so easily?

"You must stay away from her or she will die!"

* * *

"NO!" Serena awoke with a start and a scream.

Amy was immediately jolted out of her sleep, and the book tumbled to the floor under the bed.

"What? What? Serena, are you all right?" Serena's face was ashen, her eyes dark and hazy. She was still panting heavily, and was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"Amy? Serena? We heard screaming, what…?" Lita and Mina asked, pushing the door open.

"SERENA!" Raye yelled. Like some sort of trained cat, she easily pounced over Mina and Lita in the doorway and right next to Serena's bedside.

"Serena?" Darien was there as well, which came as a surprise to Serena. At first, she thought his voice had been a dream, but there he was, in her doorway. But why? When Serena met his gaze, she realized two things at once: first, that Darien, while pale, did not look as if he'd been aroused from a restful sleep. If anything, she might have guessed he'd already been awoken, perhaps by a nightmare not unlike her own. The second realization was that if he was pale simply looking at her, then she must be quite ashen. Blood loss to the head couldn't be good for the baby.

She pressed her tongue to the bottom of her mouth in an effort to ease the sudden dryness that had flared up, but before she could think to formulate a single world, there was a sudden loud "crack!" from the corner. Serena knew too well where that sound came from, and her already-pale face lost a bit more color as she stared at the only photo of herself and Darien that she dared display. It was an image of them from not long before he'd broken up with her, sitting together, looking close and comfortable and—dare she think it—in love. But Darien wasn't sitting upright and smiling as he'd been when that nice tourist had snapped the photo for them.

No, when Serena looked at that photograph, Darien was half-sprawled over Serena's knees, limp and lifeless.

It was a warning.

"Darien…" Serena breathed. She hadn't planned to say his name, hadn't thought it through. But the shock of seeing him dead, as if suddenly her dream had come to life and it was his own refusal to stay away from her that resulted in this—this…!

She recognized that look in his eyes, too: that wide-eyed horror. She'd only seen it a few times before, and the most memorable wasn't even from this lifetime. He knew what she had seen, somehow, and he'd probably seen it too. Seen her same dream, or…_'Or one where _I _died instead,'_ Serena thought. She could have doubted herself then, could have believed Andrew and gone with the convenient idea that Darien was just a jerk. But even though he'd broken up with her, he hadn't severed their bond **yet**—neither one of them could truly do that willingly—and she could feel his fear: fear for her, more than anything else.

"You shouldn't be here," Serena said, not even looking at Darien. She had to grip her comforter for the courage to say what needed to be said, because if she had been right all along and he'd broken up with her to **protect** her—_'He could use a little work in his execution, but it's the thought that counts, right?'_—then he was endangering them both by just being here.

She didn't want to die. She knew it was part and parcel of being a Sailor Soldier, that she'd given up her former life as a sheltered princess on the moon for this, for him, for Earth. But now that she was pregnant, that seemed to trump everything else, no matter how much it hurt emotionally.

"Serena—" Darien began, but Serena's gaze snapped up and she stared at him with eyes colder than he'd ever seen.

"Please leave."

The girls all stared at Serena, open-mouthed; she hadn't made mention of Darien at all in recent weeks, but they'd all taken that as a sign that she was moving on. But to not even acknowledge that he was there because a part of him still cared enough to save her—his former princess…?

"Serena, after you fainted after that droid attack, Darien brought you home. He's just here because he cares about you," Mina said softly, trying to placate Serena with a hand on her friend's shoulder.

The girls all blinked in surprise when Serena scoffed. She shoved the comforter off her bed and rose to her feet. Serena again refused to meet Darien's now-hurt gaze and instead glanced at Mina and Lita beside her.

"If he cared about me, he would have bothered to ask me how I've been doing the past few weeks, but he hasn't." There were plenty of other things she could have said right then, but Serena was still shaken up from the dream, from the realization that **that** was why Darien had broken up with her, and that no matter what, in the end, he was right: he didn't want his past as Endymion to have anything to the present and his life as Darien Shields.

_'So be it.'_

"I'm fine now, so you can leave," Serena said, looking up at Darien. Her stance indicated she would push Darien out of her apartment if she had to, but thankfully, it didn't come to that. Darien quickly covered his crestfallen expression with a stoic one, and he turned around and started heading for the door. Serena followed, if just to make sure he was really doing the right thing and staying far away—for all their sakes. Not just hers or even his, but the child that he would never know about.

_'He wouldn't want any part of it,'_ Serena assured herself mentally. _'This isn't his child, it's _Endymion's, _and Darien's been pretty clear that he's not Endymion.' _He may have been once, but…no more.

In the dimly-lit hallway just before her apartment door, Darien paused just before he stepped into his shoes.

"Serena…"

"I get it, Darien," Serena whispered softly. "I get it." To Darien's ears, she'd never before sounded so defeated, so hopeless. That was so uncharacteristic of Serena, the bright, bubbly, vivacious girl that yes, he, Darien Shields—not Endymion, not Tuxedo Mask, not the former Prince of Earth—had fallen in love with that it almost stung to hear. And if she really did understand?

"I don't," Darien said bluntly, his voice sharp despite its low volume. "Working at the arcade, living on your own…Serena, why?"

_"You must stay away from her or she will die!"_

That voice would haunt her for more nights than just this one, Serena knew. It was both frightening and familiar, and even if its dire prediction was just another trick courtesy of the Black Moon, Serena knew she and Darien couldn't take that chance.

"None of your business," she responded icily. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Darien to put his shoes on and leave. And he did, though not without audibly sighing and letting his heartbreak show in his eyes, for just a fraction of a moment.

As soon as the door closed and his footsteps retreated into the night, Serena collapsed onto her knees and cried.

* * *

It felt like hours passed before Serena finally crawled into bed again with Amy perched on a nearby futon. Amy had ushered the other girls back out to their own sleeping areas, assuring them that she would keep a close eye on Serena. Raye and Mina had both exchanged doubtful glances, but didn't counter Amy. In their minds, Serena had broken down in tears because of how upsetting it was to have Darien making a show of affection toward her, even if it was just because she was Sailor Moon and he **had** to save her. They didn't know what Amy did, and so even though they doubted Amy could talk about "love" without breaking into hives, they wouldn't stop her from trying.

After all, out of all of them, it was Amy who had known Serena the longest, Amy who had watched her grow into the heroine she was today from the very beginning, Amy who defended Serena's sudden decision to live on her own in order to protect her parents and brother from the Black Moon.

"Serena." Amy's voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew Serena wasn't asleep: her form was too stiff and curled up. She wasn't—probably **couldn't be**—relaxed at all, given all she'd been hiding inside the past several weeks.

"You know, don't you, Amy? Why I—why I did all that? Why I said what I did?" Serena sniffled and pulled a pillow closer to her face, as if burying herself in it might help her to disappear. She couldn't say the words, couldn't relive what she'd said and done over the past several weeks, lying to everyone because it was the "right thing to do." All she could do was pray that her best friends would forgive her.

"I do, Serena. I–I scanned you with my computer when I 'woke up.' I read three life-forms, and figured it out from there."

"And?" Serena lifted her face just enough to see a bright moon hanging in the sky just outside her window. It failed to calm her as it once used to.

"Serena." Amy understood that Serena didn't want to say it, didn't want to admit it…so she would have to.

"And you are three months pregnant with a healthy baby," Amy stated, careful that her words were quiet.

But unfortunately, not quiet enough.

* * *

"And?" Raye heard as she approached the door. It was Serena's voice all right, so she was awake. Raye wanted to make sure she was all right. She knew what Amy had **said**, but it was different from seeing the look on Serena's face, on hearing those words—so un-Serena-like!—echoing in her head, over and over.

There was a pause, and Raye realized that Amy and Serena were talking.

_'It isn't right to eavesdrop…'_ Raye wandered into the kitchen nearby and filled up a clean glass with some water, but she still managed to hear Amy's response.

"And you are three months pregnant with a healthy baby."

Raye immediately dropped the glass she was holding and stumbled to the floor.

* * *

** End of Chapter 1**


	2. A Look Back (2A)

Title: Only 16  
Part: 2B (WARNING, THERE MAY BE A 2C!)  
By: Azurite  
Email: sailor_andromida@yahoo.com  
Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/  
Season/Version: Sailormoon R (as usual), American  
  
Rating: PG-13, and I MEAN IT!! More romance than I  
usually do, but nothing explicit... YUCK!  
  
Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I COULD make money   
writing these, I would get my Moonie behind sued off  
if not CUT off, so here I am, legally DISCLAIMING  
ownership of the great work of the storyline  
known as Sailor Moon.   
Greets: To my Onee-chan's, Sailor Peace and JLaLa,   
who, even though I haven't talked to them in   
the longest time (this is what I get for getting  
a job to become an offical webmistress...), are  
still out there, hopefully wondering when the heck  
the next part of this story will come out. And here  
it is, just like I promised! Oh and of course, to   
my somewhat annoying imouto, Skylight.   
Other: Teen Parenting is not impossible nor rare. If you  
or someone you know is or will be a teen parent, tell them   
to tell someone else, be it friend, family, doctor or  
prenatal care specialist. I'm only adding this note for two  
reasons: 1)my health ed class just learned about this and  
from what I've heard, it's not fun, easy or worth the... pleasure.   
2)I like stories with some kind of moral, Sailormoon or not.   
*****************************************************************  
'I have to see him again.' Serenity thought upon her arrival   
on the moon. It was just beginning to become light in the palace,   
and Serenity knew she had to concentrate in order to get back to  
her chambers unnoticed.   
She thought of Endymion just as she induced the teleportation,   
and she found herself revitalized, in a way. She was instaneously  
teleported to her room, faster than she ever could have imagined.   
She collapsed onto her bed, her heart beating faster than she   
would have liked, but thinking of Endymion did that to her.   
'Now I know more about him... and the planet known  
as Earth. I don't care if it is forbidden. I have to see him again.'   
Serenity made up her mind to see him again this night, and   
even if it meant risking her everything, and telling him who she  
was, she'd do it.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"C-Crown Princess?" Endymion stuttered. The woman he had  
just talked with for well over two hours, the gorgeous goddess  
who had shyly admitted to have been watching the sunrise, and   
have snuck to Earth from "far away" without permission, was  
a princess?! A Crown Princess? Of the Royal Silver Millenium  
Kingdom of the Moon?!  
"She is the sole heir to the Silver Millenium Kingdom  
on Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and  
Saturn, and all other space inbetween, save Earth. She is also  
the heir of the Silver Imperium Crystal, the most powerful  
crystal in the universe."   
"Unless, of course, you're talking about one of her  
older relatives, like her mom." Nephrite interrupted   
Zoisite's informational tirade.   
"He looks kinda lovestruck, I don't think he's talking  
about the Queen." Jadeite remarked.   
"He looks kinda shocked to me." Malachite mentioned.   
"Look, he's about to black out!"   
Endymion did just that.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Later that night, Endymion expectantly awaited her arrival.   
Unbeknownst to him and the arriving princess, the four royal  
guards were standing on the very balcony above where they were  
to meet.   
"Think she's as gorgeous as rumor has it?" Jadeite asked  
quietly.   
"Probably. Besides, have you ever known Endymion to fall   
for anyone less than 'gorgeous'?" Nephrite responded.   
"When was the last time Endymion 'fell'?" Zoisite queried.   
"Look!" Malachite whispered, shushing his friends with his   
hand.   
A stream of silver light appeared beneath them, and with it,   
the most gorgeous woman the four of them had ever seen.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Endymion's eyes widened as he turned and faced the arriving princess. When Serenity was finally materialized, she brought a   
hand to her face, blushing. Endymion was still staring, enraptured  
with her beauty.   
"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't know you'd be here so early."   
Serenity stuttered. Great, now she'd have to tell HIM everything,   
including the dynamics of the teleporters which she again snuck into.   
"I actually wanted to be here early... I didn't want you to wait."   
Endymion responded quietly.   
"I... I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly earlier."   
"It couldn't be helped, Princess." Serenity looked up, shocked.   
"How... How did you know?" Serenity didn't bother lying.   
"I wanted to find out as much as I could about you, and my   
four guards surprised me by saying that Serenity wasn't a common   
name, but the name of... the most beautiful Princess in the Silver  
Millenium."   
"Then... Then they must have been mistaken, because I'm not..."   
Serenity paused. He was rather close to her, and his deep blue eyes  
were soft... Her own eyes fluttered in embarrassment and shyness, and  
she shifted in his light embrace.   
"Come on." He took her hand in his, and they walked down the  
same path as before, only now it was lit by the silver light  
of the Moon, and not the golden light of the Sun.  
"Tell me everything about you..." Endymion whispered, not even   
looking at her, for fear he'd lose control.   
"Well... your sources are correct... I am the Crown Princess of  
the Silver Millenium of the Moon. A position I don't like all that  
much, because there's always lectures, studying, training... It's   
like I'm a drone, or something, without my own free will to do what  
I want."   
"Sometimes you just want to get away, to..."   
"Break free." Serenity finished. Endymion nodded.   
"I think you have it luckier though. Your mother is still alive,   
and she does all the work of running the kingdom. When you're actually  
the Queen, it'll be different."   
"I don't want to be Queen. Being Queen means I have to get   
married, and even if I am the ruler of the Silver Millenium,   
I'll most likely be bound by the ties of marriage, like some  
horse to a carriage."   
"So you rebel." Endymion smiled. Serenity looked up at him   
boldly and nodded.   
"Precisely. There's no other way around it. And aren't you   
happy I did? Otherwise, I never would have met you."   
"So you're glad you met me?" Endymion asked.   
"Very." Serenity breathed, her heart beating faster on her ribs.   
Endymion subconsciously moved closer to her, allowed his arms to slide  
up her own.   
He leaned down gently, her lashes brushing his cheek when...  
*CRACK*  
"You dunce!"   
"Shut up!"   
"All of you, shush!"   
"They're not kissing anymore, you dolts!"  
Endymion groaned. Serenity smiled up at him, her eyes asking the   
questions.  
"My royal guards." Then, purposefully loud, he said their  
names, so they emerged from the brush they were hiding in.   
"Malachite." The tallest one, white haired with dancing  
pale blue eyes emerged.   
"Nephrite." The second tallest one, with wavy brown hair and  
chestnut eyes, came forth from the brush, a branch stuck in his  
hair.   
"Jadeite." A short haired blonde with bright green eyes  
came forth.   
"And Zoisite." A flushed, long haired, strawberry blonde  
emerged from the plants, two branches sticking out like rabbit's  
ears from his ponytail. Serenity tried to bite her tongue, but she only   
succeeded in giggling some more. Soon, the everyone's surprise, she   
burst out laughing, small crystal tears falling from her face.   
"Is she laughing or crying?" Jadeite asked.   
"I don't know..." Nephrite trailed off.   
"Get it out!" Zoisite said while hopping around, desperately   
trying to pull the branches from his hair.   
Serenity's fit of laughter increased so much, she had to   
lean on Endymion. She pointed at Zoisite while he steadied her,  
and he noticed the precarious position the two branches were in.   
Soon, he himself was laughing, something he hadn't done  
in a long time.   
Five minutes later, Serenity and Endymion were out of breath  
and sighing. They both rested on the grass, Serenity sitting on   
Endymion's lap.   
"And...And he looked like a rabbit, hopping... and the sticks...  
like ears..." Serenity giggled.   
"I've never seen him that paranoid before..." Endymion chuckled.   
"It wasn't that funny." Zoisite huffed, turning away. Malachite  
had helped him get the sticks out of his hair, as had Jadeite helped  
Nephrite.   
"You've got to be kidding me!" Endymion responded jovially.   
"No offense, but you guys looked so silly!" Serenity chuckled.   
This being the first time she spoke to them directly, the four men  
turned, made themselves look somewhat appropriate, and kneeled before  
her.   
"Wh-What are you doing?" Serenity stuttered, paling.   
"You are the Crown Princess. You deserve our respect in some   
manner." Malachite said, hardly lifting his head.  
"I, uh... I'm... I'm off-duty." Serenity finally said, smiling.  
"Excuse me?" Nephrite asked, confused.   
"Off-duty. Whenever I'm here on Earth, I'm not a Princess, so  
please don't bow or anything. I get enough of that at home."   
This remark brought laughter to the four formerly embarassed  
Royal Guards of Endymion, and soon, all six people were laughing  
in the dark of the night.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It continued this way, for many months, but Serenity and Endymion  
hardly ever got any privacy.   
And it only got worse when Serenity became careless with the times  
she teleported...  
Endymion was eagerly awaiting Serenity's arrival that night. He   
wanted to go someplace different tonight, someplace the guards couldn't  
follow him to. His own secret place, where'd he'd show her the delacacies of Earth.   
Serenity arrived momentarily, and before any words could  
be uttered between them, Endymion laughingly grabbed her small  
hand and they ran off into the night together.   
"Princess!" A feminine voice sounded. Immediately, Serenity  
stopped in her tracks.   
"Who is it?" Endymion whispered beside her.   
"My cousin, and one of MY Royal Guards, Sailor Venus."   
"The Legendary Princess of Venus, and the Matchmaker of  
the Silver Millenium?" Endymion asked.   
"The very same."   
"VENUS METEOR... SHOWER!" A bright light shot into the sky  
and split into hundreds of smaller lights, falling like twinkling  
stars. The figure of Venus could be seen from several yards away,   
where Endymion and Serenity stood together, their hands clasped as  
one.   
"Found you!" Venus yelled just as the lights started dimming.   
Venus ran over to the couple rather fast, and tapped her foot on   
the stone path.   
"Didn't we tell you not to come here?" Venus questioned, her lips   
positioned in a half-frown.   
"But Mina..."   
"Sere, we warned you!"   
"And I told you, I don't care. I'm safe with Endymion!"   
"Eh?" Venus looked up when she noticed the second presence  
next to her cousin.   
'She has GOOD taste!' Venus thought. There was something...  
something about him... a strong energy force... linking to Serenity?  
"Well... he seems nice enough... but only this once, Sere. Ja!"  
With a small wave, Venus turned around and teleported away in a burst  
of orange-gold light and stars.   
However, Princess Serenity disobeyed, for she was, as she  
had told Endymion before, the rebel. Venus, as her first  
royal guard, naturally followed her, and stopped her again.   
"Princess! You're here again?! We have to go home!"   
Serenity cringed, embarassed at how Venus was treating her in front  
of Endymion.  
"It must be hard having a bundle of curiousity for a Princess."   
A deep voice interrupted. Venus' head snapped up. That was NOT   
Endymion's voice... did that mean there were other people there?  
'Oh my...' Venus looked at the person who the voice belonged  
to... a handsome, powerful, ice-eyed man with shoulder length, snow-  
colored hair.   
"Mina, this is Malachite. Malachite, Mina, Princess of Venus."   
Serenity introduced, slipping out of Venus' grasp.   
"Malachite!" Endymion said, seeing his best friend chuckle  
and flirt with Serenity's First Guard like that. Besides, he had  
been spying on them... AGAIN!  
"Oh I uh... nice to meet you." Venus blushed and suddenly  
looked at the moon.   
"Oh, look at the time. I better get going... Ja!" Venus waved  
again and vanished in a burst of light and stars, leaving a   
stunned Malachite and two smiling royals in her midst. Seeing the  
opportunity, Serenity and Endymion dashed off, not noticing Malachite  
still standing there, staring off at where Venus had been.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"What's this?" Serenity asked, picking up a ripe peach.   
"That's a peach. They aren't in season, but the gardens at  
the palace are specially treated, so we can have any fruit whenever  
we want."   
"Is it good?" Serenity asked curiously, rolling the fuzzy fruit  
in her palm.   
"Of course... I wouldn't have brought it if it wasn't. Go ahead,   
try it." Endymion encouraged. It had been forty minutes since  
they had dashed away from Malachite, and something told Endymion  
that Malachite was probably still there, staring at space.   
They had gotten to his 'secret spot' in the Terran Woods  
twenty minutes previous, and they had spent the first ten staring  
at the stars, while Endymion questioned her about her, and everything  
she liked.   
He found out about all her guardians, and chuckled when she   
started pairing them with his Guards.   
"It's true! Raye, Mars, she'd be the perfect match for   
Jadeite, and you saw Mina and Malachite click like that! And   
Zoisite and Amy, she's Mercury... and Jupiter and Nephrite!  
They'd be perfect matches!" Serenity had giggled.   
She'd continued, telling him how her aunt was the Queen of Venus,   
and how her father had died long ago in a war. She told him of her  
guardian cats, Luna and Artemis, and her mother. But soon, she   
was overwhelmed with curiousity as to what was in the basket   
Endymion had brought with him.   
Endymion had given her some of the food he brought with him,   
and with each new item, Serenity had another question.   
"Umm. You're right, Endy! This is GOOD!" Serenity said happily,   
biting into the peach again.   
'Endy? I like that...' Endymion thought to himself. This was   
progress...  
Serenity finished off the peach, knowing after Endymion's  
previous warning on the nectarine not to eat the pit. She had  
a small splotch of peach juice coating her rose-colored lips,   
and it made them shine in the bright moonlight.   
Seeing her so relaxed and beautiful, with him... him of  
all princes in the galaxy... Endymion leaned closer to her, and they  
fell asleep on each other's shoulders, content.   
Some time later, Serenity woke up. The feeling of warning,   
telling her to retutn, set off in her head. She gently shook  
Endymion, who had somehow fallen asleep in her lap. Serenity's own head  
had been resting on a tree trunk, so she had a small crick in her neck.   
"Mmm?"   
"Endy, it's time to wake up. I have to go now."   
"Mm-must you? Stay here tonight." Endymion muttered drowsily.   
'He mustn't be awake. He's paranoid or something.' Serenity was  
still silent, so Endymion opened his eyes.   
"Sere?"   
"Good, you're awake."   
'He called you Sere!' Her mind cried overjoyously.   
"Well?"   
"Well what?" Serenity repeated nervously.   
"Stay here tonight." Endymion said, rising. Serenity   
flushed scarlet, and then shook her head slowly.   
"Endy, I wish I could, but you know I can't."   
"Then..." He started, pulling her to her feet with him,   
"At least let me give you a good-night kiss, my Princess."   
And Endymion slowly lowered his lips onto hers, until they met with  
a spark of passion and the taste of peach.   
Somewhat dizzy and still recovering, Serenity swayed as she  
teleported away. Endymion was smiling as well, and looked rather  
pleased.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serenity tried to teleport the next night, but a  
rather annoying cousin stopped her...  
"Found you, Princess!" Venus called. Serenity nearly tripped.   
For almost a whole week, Venus hadn't noticed her missing, and she  
picked NOW, tonight of all nights, to stop her?!  
"Are you running off to see the Prince again? It's dangerous  
to meet him just for fun!" Venus told her cousin, concerned.   
"It's not just for fun!" Serenity cried, turning around.   
She flushed lightly at the statement, the way it sounded. Small   
tears welled up in her eyes that Mina, Goddess of Love, would think  
such a thing.   
"You don't get it Venus! Because you've never fallen in love  
before! You don't understand my feelings!" Serenity childishly stuck  
her tongue out at Mina and "Nyyah"-ed her before rushing off.   
Venus carefully absorbed what Serenity had said, and immediately  
thought of Malachite.   
"Venus?" Mercury asked, interrupting her thoughts. Jupiter was  
waving a hand in front of her face impatiently.   
"I'm worried about her... One day, she'll be Queen, and her duty  
will be to watch over Earth and protect the Silver Imperium Crystal.   
She won't get hurt by falling in love, will she?" Venus asked.   
It was a rhetorical question, and she didn't expect an answer. Of   
course, none of the scouts could give one, anyways.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"I feel safe here, watching the sea and feeling the breeze. Just  
here with you." Serenity laid back on the grass with Endymion, simply  
enjoying being with him.   
"I feel the same... I love being with you." Serenity blushed  
at Endymion's bluntness.   
'Why do I have to be so poetic when trying to tell him how I   
feel?'  
"We mustn't keep meeting like this." Endymion said seriously.   
Serenity sat up, and looked at him.   
"Why?" She felt a great emptiness well up inside her. He wouldn't  
leave her... he couldn't. She LOVED him!  
"Communication between people of the Moon and Earth is forbidden."   
Endymion gathered her into his arms, and played with the golden tendrils  
of hair swirling around her ear.   
Her own hands brushed his cheek gently, sending tingles down his   
neck and spine.   
"It is the way of the Gods." Serenity agreed, tears falling.   
He hated seeing her like this, so upset. Gods, he loved her, but   
there was no way they could be together without risking everything.   
'We mustn't fall in love.' They both thought at the same time.   
'But it's already too late.'   
Endymion and Serenity clasped hands as he kissed her once again,   
slowly and passionately, his arm holding her against him, his warmth  
flowing through her shoulders where he held her.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two Years Later  
  
Serenity heard the knocking at her door, and her senses tickled.   
'Endymion!'   
"Come in!" Serenity tried to push back the excited feelings of not  
seeing him for well over a month. She was SO excited that he finally got  
to return to the Lunarian Kingdom... once her mother had heard about  
the relationship, she had given her blessing... but she never made it  
public, as the Lunarians wouldn't approve any more than the Terrans.   
Endymion pushed the door open slowly, and Serenity knew it was   
because he was expecting her to barrel into him. When she didn't,   
he drew her into his embrace for a long-awaited, long-needed kiss.   
"Sere..."   
"Umm..." Serenity parted her soft lips slowly, wanting Endymion  
BADLY... but he stopped before the kiss could get any deeper and... *ahem* out of control.   
"Endy, what's wrong?" Serenity asked, her arms still wrapped  
around his warm neck.   
"Serenity..." Serenity gasped slightly; Endymion never used her  
full name unless something really WAS wrong...   
'But the look in his eyes... his smile... oh dear...'   
"Serenity, I want to ask you something." Serenity's senses went into overload and she panicked.   
'Oh no... is he going to ask if I'll let him see other girls?  
Oh heavens, what made me think he loved *me* ?! I'm just the little  
blonde, weak princess... with an entire kingdom and the universal   
power at my fingertips... what if he only wants me for power?!'   
"Yes, Endymion?" Serenity pronounced softly, not giving  
away her true emotions. As soon as she finished, she bit her tongue  
in order to hold back what she was feeling, what she was so   
tempted to say... she ended up hurting herself and two tears formed  
in her eyes.   
"Serenity, I...I..." And, despite the tears, Serenity smiled.   
'He never was good with emotions. Not since his parents died  
in that attack so long ago.'   
Serenity had only had a small glimpse of what Endymion had been  
like for so long... cold, unfeeling, and lonely.   
"You changed him." Malachite had told her.   
"He had never been like this! I mean, he's usually so cold and   
callous to girls, especially Princesses, but YOU!" Serenity remembered  
Jadeite saying to her.   
"Yes, he was always so close-minded, and never romantic, like   
he is now." Nephrite had added.   
"Now, every time he comes back from the Moon, he's mopey because  
he's not around you, or smirking because he's planning something new to   
do or buy you, or ramble to you..." Zoisite added cheerfully.   
Serenity smiled. He really *did* care about her, didn't he?   
"Serenity, I..." Endymion suddenly fell silent and dropped  
to one knee before the Princess on her bed.   
"Will you marry me?" Endymion asked simply. Serenity arose from  
her stupor and looked at him. His midnight eyes were actually wavering  
with tears, some unreadable expression covering his skin and lips.   
"Oh my... Endy..." Serenity gasped even louder when he brought  
out the gorgeous ring. It was simple, something that both he and   
Serenity liked.   
"Oh, I really don't like gawdy, showy stuff. It makes the owner  
look like they've got an ego bigger than the moon!" She had told him  
long ago.  
A simple pair of bands, one silver and one gold, held   
a medium-sized diamond. Two tendrils of gold and silver met at   
the diamond, and curled to hold a pearl in one, a ruby in the other.   
Tiny crescent moons and Earth sigils were engraved on the two bands,  
and where they met, they meshed into a single symbol: a circle   
containing a crescent moon and a cross covering it.   
"Serenity, please, make me the happiest man alive, and  
marry me. I love you." Endymion whispered. His breath was ragged  
and nearly caught in his throat as he asked her to become his  
one and only. If this wasn't risking everything for love, he didn't know what was.   
"Endymion." Serenity breathed, taking his hand in her own.   
When they stood, Endymion still held her small hand in his own  
expecting an answer...  
'What if she says no, and wants to break up... because she's   
found a better prince, someone who can offer her more...'   
"YES, YES, a million times YES in a moon minute!!!" Serenity  
squealed, leaping into his arms. Stunned, Endymion hardly moved, the  
words melting into his brain long after she had said them.   
'She...she said yes!'   
"Endy?" Serenity asked worriedly. No response.   
"En-" Serenity was cut off this time by the warmth of   
Endymion's mouth on her own, kissing her passionately.   
"Umm..." Serenity found herself groaning slightly.   
Breathing deeply, they both pulled away from each other's lips,   
still in each other's arms.   
"Sere, I love you." For the first in a long time, tears fell  
from his midnight eyes willingly.   
"Oh Endy, I love you too, now and forever." Serenity smiled  
back, tears rimming her eyes. Endymion slid the simple ring on  
the appropriate finger, while small tears tracked their way   
down Serenity's face. He brushed them away with his fingertip,   
and kissed any following ones away gently.   
The short kisses became deeper, with Endymion's lips traveling  
across her face and down her neck. Serenity moaned lightly, having  
never felt this way... been treated this way before.   
Her legs suddenly felt like water, and she collapsed backwards  
onto the bed, Endymion still on top of her, kissing her passionately.  
It was this way for many minutes, until he pulled her to her weak and  
unstable feet.   
There was an unmistakable heat inbetween them, more so than   
had ever been there before. Something was about to happen, and they  
both knew it. He was breathing heavily, his head resting in the curve  
of her shoulders. Her own head was bowed on his shoulder, the cold  
armor tingling her warm skin. Her delicate hands fumbled with  
the complicated straps and finally managed to get the armor   
off his shoulders.   
She heard him inhale sharply as the heat and sense of protection  
the armor provided clattered to the floor resoundingly; that breath   
wasn't let out. She closed her eyes and let her senses flood her  
mind; a spark lit inside of her and continued to grow until she  
opened her eyes again.   
The armor on his knees was sooner gone, as were his hard metal  
boots and belt at his hip. They were in each other's arms once more  
and the humidity of the room was rising quickly.   
His hand suddenly brushed the clasp of the dress near the small of  
her back, and it felt unusually cold.   
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Endymion asked hoarsely.  
"Never been more sure of anything in my life." Serenity   
replied, pulling his face back down to hers for a deep kiss.   
His fingers brushed at the clasp, which released, and with a  
swift movement, the silk fluttered to the floor beneath them.   
Moments later, Endymion's own clothes joined the dress on the floor,   
and the two lovers were making love to each other in the Princess's  
Royal Chambers.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
'So warm... when I'm with you... It feels like my heart is  
transparent... I feel my power growing... I wish I could stay like  
this forever.' Serenity felt warm and content, Endymion holding her  
gently. He was still asleep, but his arms were wrapped around her  
bare shoulders and around her bowed golden head. Her eyes were barely  
open, but from the haze, she saw his bare chest, rising and falling  
in time with her own breathing.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
*END DREAM*  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
**********************************************************************  
End of Part 2B, as indicated by the double star and squiggly   
lines. I know I read that from somewhere else. Someone please tell   
Lilac Summers to finish "First Truths" (if you haven't read it, do so   
NOW, and you'll know what I mean), because my rants, raves, begs and  
orders have all gone unheeded. I admit, she is a busy college girl,  
but she DID say she'd have an epilogue out in two weeks, and its been...  
what, four months? PLEASE LILAC!! I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!!!!!  
Oh yes, and my email is sailor_andromida@yahoo.com, in case you're  
curious.   



	3. Decisions Made (2B)

Title: Only 16  
Part: 2A (Gomen, this is REALLY LONG :-))  
Rating: PG ~ PG-13   
A tad more romance than I usually do, but nothing  
explicit... YUCK!   
By: Azurite  
Email: sailor_andromida@yahoo.com  
Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/  
Season/Version: Sailormoon R (as usual), American  
Disclaimer: Sailormoon isn't mine. 'Nuff said.   
Greetz: To all you lovely people you mailed me about  
chapter one... and if, while writing this, I wasn't  
cut off from net access, I'd check my mail and list  
you all. But all you sweethearts know who you are, and  
this chapter is dedicated to you.  
Other: Teen Parenting is not impossible nor rare. If you  
or someone you know is or will be a teen parent, tell them   
to tell someone else, be it friend, family, doctor or  
prenatal care specialist. I'm only adding this note for two  
reasons: 1)my health ed class just learned about this and  
from what I've heard, it's not fun, easy or worth the... pleasure.   
2)I like stories with some kind of moral, Sailormoon or not.   
*******************************************************************  
A Look Back:   
"And?" Raye heard as she approached the door. It was Serena's voice all right, so she was awake. Raye wanted to make sure she  
was all right. There was a pause, and Raye realized that Amy and  
Serena must be talking.   
'It isn't right to eavesdrop...' Raye wandered into the kitchen   
nearby, and still managed to hear Amy's response.  
"And you are three months pregnant with a heathy baby."   
Raye immediately dropped the glass she was holding, and fainted.  
*********************************************************************  
"Raye?!" Lita on the couch was the first to wake up and hear  
the noise, followed by Mina, Darien, and lastly, Amy.   
"Umnngh..."   
"Raye, are you okay?" Mina asked, concerned. Raye sat up, and  
managed a weak smile.   
"Yeah... um, butterfingers?"   
"You-You fainted!" Lita persisted. Raye paled significantly,   
especially when she saw Amy looking at her suspiciously.   
"Yeah um... I was feeling dizzy, and wanted a drink of water,   
but I fainted before I could get it. Butterfingers." Raye managed  
yet again. Amy only nodded and went back into the bedroom, while the   
others seemed harder to fool.   
Darien, however, sensed that whatever REALLY happened, he  
was not part of, and so let it be. He went back to his room.   
"Guys, I need to talk to you."   
"You're all right, right?"   
"Yeah..."   
"So it can wait, right? I'm SO tired!" Mina yawned. Raye  
rolled her eyes, and found herself yawning.   
"Yeah..." Lita agreed sleepily.   
"Fine. But I'll be up early. This cannot wait until after  
that." Raye agreed. Lita and Raye padded off back to their   
sleeping accomodations in the living room, while Mina retired  
to her own room.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
//Next Morning//  
  
As she promised, Raye was up early, and so woke Mina and Lita  
up early as well.   
"MMngh? Hey, Raye, it's only 6:00!"  
"Good. That means Amy and Serena won't be up yet!" Raye said.   
"Huh, what does that mean? Why do you care if--" Mina protested,   
following Raye out of the room.   
"Wake up, long fellow!" Raye hissed at Lita.   
"Guh?"   
"WAKE UP!" Raye hissed again, venom seething in her voice.   
She herself had only gotten a few hours of sleep, for the news she  
had heard the night before had kept her awake, contemplating.   
Lita's stomach reminded her it was breakfast time, no matter  
how early, and she rose.   
Raye pulled her into Mina's room before anyone could do   
anything, and started.   
"You remember when Serena came to the temple, and was acting  
really nervous?" Raye asked, in a tone much too serious for everyone's  
own good. Lita thought her voice was so pensive for Raye that something  
must be REALLY wrong... but she did KIND of remember what Raye was   
talking about.   
"Yeah..." Mina nodded slowly, along with Lita.   
"That was what, two months or so back?" Lita asked. Raye nodded.   
"And since the Grim Man, there haven't been any attacks... weird,  
that was almost around the same time." Mina added.   
"That's not what I'm worried about, though." Raye whispered.   
"Huh?" Lita and Mina said almost unanimously.   
"What's wrong, Raye?" Mina asked.   
"Serena. It's... ever since then, she's been acting really weird.   
Until now, I never thought much of it, or why. But..."  
"But now, you are thinking about it."   
"Yeah, why? Is something wrong with her?" Lita queried.   
"I'm not sure... but I overheard something last night."   
"Well?" Lita asked eagerly, settling on the far end of the bed.   
"Well um... Serena is... she's sort of... oh, how do I put this?"  
Raye fumbled with the words that, in her head, seemed so easy to say.   
Why was it so hard now?  
"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Mina breathed.   
Slowly, Raye nodded.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"What if they know?" Serena whispered, trying to stay quiet.   
Amy averted her eyes from Serena and spoke quietly.   
"Then there is nothing we can do. Serena, you're at the end  
of your first trimester. You're lucky no one noticed when they  
saw you, at school, or at the attack. You're obviously pregnant,  
and you're only going to... to get... well, no offense, but fatter.   
And if the others DO know, you'll have to give them a more decent  
explanation than you gave me."   
"How can I be more 'decent'? Amy, I don't even know whose child  
I am carrying!" Serena hissed.   
"Whose do you think?" Amy asked in response. Serena turned her  
eyes away.   
"That's what I thought. He IS the only logical possibility, but  
from what you told me last night, you and Darien never..."   
"We never made love to each other. I don't know... Amy, what  
if I was raped or something?"   
"Serena, you don't think..."   
"No, I'm not saying HE did it... I'm saying..."   
"There's only one way to find out, you know. Take a test at   
the doctor's."   
"Fine. THEN, and only then, will I tell the girls. Otherwise,   
we have to cover it up from them as best we can. Promise, Amy."   
"I promise."   
"Thank you. You know, this means HIM, too. ESPECIALLY HIM."   
"I understand. But if something happens, and they FIND OUT,   
on their own, you're going to have to explain it."   
"I want to explain it before then." Saying so, Serena picked  
up the phone off the cradle and dialed a number. A receptionist  
at Dr. Cunningham's office picked up.   
"I'd like to make an appointment, please."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Later that day, Serena went to her appointment. Amy had distracted  
everyone when Serena left, and carefully avoided all their questions.   
Thankfully, NONE of the girls thought Serena wanted DARIEN to   
know, so when he entered the room, they all silenced. Amy used his   
presence to the fullest, making sure that if he was in the room,   
no questions were to be asked.   
'And don't HINT at anything!' Amy remembered Serena saying before  
she left. If she so much as dropped a line, then the girls would know  
for sure. And Amy never lied...  
Around 11:00, all the girls left, and Darien too, although he  
seemed much more reluctant.   
"Give my regards to Sere-Serena, would you, Amy?" He asked  
quietly as he left. The girls were already out of earshot, down   
the hall and waiting at the elevator, discussing something amongst  
themselves.   
"I'll do that." Amy smiled truthfully. Just as she closed the   
door, she breathed a silent 'Congratulations'.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"We should have the results back by around 5:00 this afternoon.   
Can we call you, or do you want to come back?"   
"I'd like the call, please." Serena answered. Dr. Cunningham   
nodded and then shuffled a few papers on her clipboard.   
"I know this is a tough time, Serena, but that's what this   
clinic is here for. No teenager -no one at all- should ever have  
to go through something like this alone."   
"I'm glad my physician recommended you."   
"We're not called thr best in the city for nothing." Dr.   
Cunningham smiled as Serena got up from the hospital bed and  
put her baggy sweatshirt on again.   
"Thanks again." Serena said truthfully before taking her  
mini backpack and walking out.   
"Any time Serena. Good luck." Dr. Cunningham whispered   
as Serena left. She had been like that once...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
As soon as Serena got home, she found Amy was the only one  
left in the house. It was only 1:30, two and a half hours since she  
had left, and one and a half hours since her appointment. She had walked all the way home, and the appoinment was a half-hour wait, and one hour   
long... well, she was downright tired, and the first thing  
she did was murmur a 'hello' to Amy before collapsing  
on her bed.  
She managed to drowsily set her alarm for 4:40 before she fell   
into a deep sleep.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
*DREAM*  
  
Serenity was extremely tired of being confined to her chambers  
all the time. She WAS the Crown Princess of the Silver Millenium, after   
all. And Goddess Selene help her, she was curious, adventurous, and  
extremly risk-taking. Anything for what she wanted, when she wanted it.   
So one night, she used her powers to sneak past the guards  
surrounding her room, and ran to the teleporters.   
"There's no where I can go without being seen by Guards of the  
Silver Millenium... or my own Personal Guards..." Serenity remembered  
how her mother had dismissed the Inner Scouts to their kingdom for  
pre-training purification, or something like that. The only scouts  
who wouldn't be able to chase after her if they saw her were the   
Outers, because Neptune and Uranus had their hands full  
protecting the rim of the Silver Millenium Solar System, now that  
Princess Pluto was old enough to watch over the Time Gate and   
Sailor Saturn, after all her training, had been put into   
The Sleep, from which she would only be awakened by Queen Serenity  
or Pluto when needed. She was, after all, the Scout of Death and   
Rebirth, the Melancholic Sacrificial Soldier.   
Serenity wandered the Teleportation Chambers for a bit until   
she reached the Control Room. It greatly resembled a planetarium,   
with an entire wall covered in a map of the stars. A great screen  
hung at an agle above this wall, and a small panel of controls   
lay across from this wall, where the screen could be controlled.   
Serenity couldn't read the labels in the dark, so she felt  
around and pressed one.   
Immediately, the screen faded from black to a light gray, dark  
gray, and then color. The image of... somewhere... fading yet again  
into another place, what looked like a grand city, and then...  
a person?  
The image cleared, and Serenity found herself staring at the  
most handsome man she had ever seen in her seventeen years. He had the  
deepest blue eyes, shiny black hair, and well-cut features that made  
him look... simply perfect.   
But... Serenity could sense something in him. She had that   
ability, as had her mother before her, and her mother before her.   
It was the ability to sense souls, and heal them. Endymion's was  
hardened, and hard to read, even Serenity, with her few months  
of experience knew that. But what she could sense was a great loss,  
and at the same time, a great need.   
That pull that drew her to people, the one that made her so  
kind and caring. She was a very magnetic person, with lots of   
friends and loyal subjects. She was the exact opposite of what  
people expected such a royal, powerful princess to be like.   
She was kind, gentle, never stuck-up, and very generous.   
She was funny, faulty, clutzy and lovable. She was everything   
that everyone wanted in a friend, comrade, and wife. So Serenity  
was sought after by many suitors. But unless she felt that PULL,   
she didn't accept their generous offers. She gave them all a chance,   
it was true, and by the end of the trials, both knew whether they   
were meant to be or not. More often than not, the suitor realized  
Serenity was not the one for him. And Serenity always arranged for  
them to keep in touch, and in doing so, was always invited to  
the weddings of the ones her former suitors were REALLY meant to be  
with, pairings made by herself and Venus, most of the time.   
That pull Serenity felt... she felt it in him, and so   
she found herself rushing to the Forbidden Teleporter, and going  
to Earth.   
When she arrived there, it was almost daylight. The sun was  
rising over a mass of water, and the air... it smelled! It smelled  
foriegn, of course, but unlike the artificial air on the Moon,   
this smelled...  
The breeze caught her hair and blew it behind her in a mass  
of gold and silver, shining like the rays of the sun itself. Serenity  
closed her eyes and simply inhaled, enjoying the smell of Earth...  
'Why is it forbidden to visit this tranquillic (real   
word?)planet?' Serenity thought. Her senses tickled again, and Serenity  
opened her eyes. As the sun cut across the horizon, tinting the sky   
shades of pink and gold, Serenity felt something brush her cheek.   
It was small, heart-shaped, and pink...  
"What is this?" Serenity asked aloud, holding the thing in her   
hands.   
"Endymion!" Serenity heard in the distance. From being on the   
silent moon for seventeen years, Serenity had a good sense of hearing  
as well. It was a male voice, anywhere from twenty to thirty yards away.   
"I'll be back by breakfast!" Serenity, on instinct, hid. What if   
there was someone who would report her... or what if Earth was Forbidden  
because the people were hostile?   
'Oh dear...'   
She hid behind a pillar holding up a mass of marble, most likely a   
balcony. A foriegn, dark green plant wove around it and up, around the  
fence at the top of the marble. On either side, the two large trees  
with the pink blooms on them grew. The grass under this marble   
balcony spread out several yards before expansing into a vast beach,   
where one could see the best of the sunrise, sunset, or any of the  
Earth Kingdom.   
She heard light footsteps, and something made the hairs at the   
back of her neck stand on end again.   
Serenity tried to hide herself behind the pillar...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Endymion was out early again for his normal walk around the beach.   
His guards were the only ones who knew he did this, and yet, every   
morning, they complained about his habit. So he had suggested they stay  
behind.   
"It's not like I need protection this early. And besides, it's   
peaceful times, what could possibly happen?"   
"You could meet someone!" Malachite laughed. Endymion had only  
rolled his eyes at that and walked off.   
He was approaching the Twin Blossom Balcony, the Balcony   
attached to the room given to high ranking or respectful guests of  
the Terran Earth Kingdom. Two cherry blossom trees grew on either side  
of the marble balcony, hence the name. The most peaceful part of his  
walk, however, was under that balcony, with cool grass, the fresh smell  
of the ocean wind and the dew-misted ivy growing on the pillars. There,   
Endymion could sit and bask in the rising sun for hours, undisturbed.   
It had become his habit.   
This day was no different, with the exception of the ever-changing  
sunrise. How Eos' fingertips touched the horizon every morning without  
fail amazed him. For some reason, everything BEYOND his reach was what   
interested him. The knowledge of other worlds, their inhabitants...  
he wondered what the moon was like... the silver orb he could just make  
out in the multi-hued sky.   
He leaned back on the grass and closed his eyes. He opened them   
abruptly again, that feeling of being watched keeping him on the alert.   
He tried not to move too much, but leaned back on the grass. He caught   
sight of one of the pillars that held up the balcony of the currently,   
and usually unoccupied room.   
'Sunlight?' No doubt, something glistening and golden was there,   
behind that pillar. But marble didn't reflect... and sunlight didn't   
move in the breeze! Whatever that mass of gold and silver was, it was  
not a plant, not part of the pillar...   
Endymion rose slowly, and went around the pillar from the   
other direction. Who -or what- ever was behind here would be caught  
for trespassing on royal grounds.   
Endymion approached the creature from behind, and grabbed it from   
the shadows.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serenity gasped when she felt something grab her. She let out  
a small cry and was forcefully spun around.   
She squinted her eyes shut, fearing the worst.   
'Now I'm going to get it... one of the guards from home... or  
maybe Mars followed me here. They'll be so mad at me for trespassing  
on the Forbidden Planet's grounds... and if it's a Terran... what  
if I am a criminal? This is what I get for daydreaming, and watching the  
sun rise. And I'll never get to meet that handsome man...' Serenity's   
thoughts flew in her head at a million miles a second, and when   
no sound came from her captor, she opened her eyes, one at a time,   
slowly.   
Endymion was astonished, to say the least.   
'A girl?!' Not just a girl... a woman, and a beautiful... no,   
a gorgeous one. She had long flowing hair fashioned into two buns  
on either side of her head. She wore a long, white dress, with a   
becoming bodice that accented her every curve in rows of pearls  
or scallops of gold. Two sets of pearl barettes adorned her head,   
as did a shining... cresent moon sigil? Who was this girl?   
'It's him!' Serenity's thoughts screamed in excitement.   
That tickling, nerve-wracking, heart-thumping feeling aggravated  
her senses again, and Serenity blushed.   
'Who is she and... she's blushing?'   
Endymion's hands still rested on her shoulders, and he didn't   
think to remove them until the heavy silence became uncomfortable.   
"Uh...Who are you?"   
'I'm not in trouble? He's not mad that I'm here?'   
"I'm... I'm..."   
"You're shy." Endymion smiled. Serenity found the courage to   
look up, only to meet those deep blue eyes, the same as that ocean  
expanse she had been staring at before. She blushed profusely again,   
and nodded slightly.   
"It's all right. I don't think I've seen you around here before...  
are you a guest of the Terran kingdom?"   
"Um... well, no. I...I'm..."   
"Ssh... It's fine. I take it you don't know who I am, do you,   
Little One?"   
'Aww!'   
"N-No..."   
"My name is Endymion. I'm the Crown Prince of this Earth Terran Kingdom."   
'A PRINCE?!' Serenity flushed, realizing that everything in the  
haphazardly-forming-in-her-mind plan was absolutely perfect.   
Endymion brought the goddess' small, ivory hand to his lips  
and kissed it gently. Serenity looked up at him, eyes wide and   
sparkling with something hidden.   
"I'm... I'm Serenity."   
"A beautiful name... for a beautiful girl. You look just as  
serene as your name implies."   
"Th-Thank you..." Serenity stuttered yet again. Why was she  
so knock-kneed around him? It couldn't be... him, could it? The  
one she had been waiting for?!   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, what brings you to this kingdom?" Endymion asked, making  
conversation with the etheral creature walking alongside him on   
the beach trail.   
"I... I've always wanted to visit Earth."   
"Earth? You're not from this world?" Endymion asked. Serenity  
gulped, realizing her near mistake. But if he was THE ONE, shouldn't  
he at least know where she was from?   
"No...I'm... I'm from far away."   
Endymion sensed she was more than shy around him, almost nervous   
when choosing her answers. But he did want to know more about her,   
get to know her better.   
"Well, how does our planet look from yours?"   
From the bottom of her heart, Serenity responded,   
"Like a beautiful blue crystal ball... full of hope and   
possibilities."   
"No one's ever described Earth quite like that before."   
"I guess it's because I've spent most of my time watching  
it, wishing I could come here. I spend hours finding the right  
words to describe it."   
"You seem very dedicated. How is it that you've come here  
alone... without an escort? You don't seem like the type who   
wouldn't have any..." By those words, Endymion implied that she  
was royalty, and not a peasant. Serenity knew this, and didn't  
retort, as she would have to anyone else to so blatantly assume  
such a thing.   
Blushing, Serenity looked down in embarassment. She muffled  
her voice with her hand over her mouth when she spoke.   
"Isnuckdownhere." Serenity whispered quickly. Endymion paused  
and leaned closer to her.   
"What?" Serenity looked up, feeling his warmth from how close  
he was to her. His breath on her neck...  
"I... I snuck down here... without permission." Endymion  
almost laughed, but that would be rude, so he merely chuckled.   
Serenity's crystalline eyes glistened as she indignatly asked  
him, "What is so funny?" Endymion admired her features as they  
played various emotions, and then responded.   
"You're like a cat, in a way... mischievous. There aren't   
many girls like that."   
"That's what my mother says!" Serenity laughed. Endymion  
loved the sound of her voice... it was like wind chimes, light  
bells, or perhaps the delicate strumming of a harp, or violin.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was well after when Endymion was supposed to have returned  
to the palace, but he didn't care. He loved being with Serenity.   
Suddenly, mid-way through their walk, she stopped, and her  
face paled.   
"Serenity?"   
"M-M... I have to go now." Serenity nearly whispered hoarsely.   
"Serenity?! But... But why?"   
"I...I have to..." Serenity stumbled back to where she had first  
been, the Twin Blossom Balcony, as Endymion had told her... in fact,   
he had told her everything she wanted to know, from what things  
they ate, to the names of the flowers she saw growing in the vases on  
the balcony.   
But the Balcony was a good two miles away, and Serenity collapsed  
after only a few yards.   
"Sere?!" Endymion nearly yelled, fearing for her life. What  
was happening to her?!   
"I'll... I'll come back."   
"When? I don't know anything about you, or where you're from!"   
"Tonight... at the Balcony. I'll be there... when the moon rises."   
Serenity's hand was becoming lighter in his own, and he stared down at  
her fading form.   
"I forgot... it's a timed teleportation..." Serenity grinned   
lopsidedly before vanishing into the air.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Later that day, Endymion returned to the palace.   
"Where have you been?" Malachite asked furiously. True, he was  
the First Guard, and a tad overprotective of his best friend... but   
still, he was the Crown Prince, ruler of the Terran Earth Kingdom...  
and his best friend.   
Endymion didn't seem to hear him, as his expression changed  
without response.   
He looked somewhat upset when all four Royal Guards caught sight  
of him, and this looked prompted Nephrite to ask,   
"What happened?" Then, Endymion's placid face broke into a smile,   
and he tinted a light shade of pink. Jadeite's eyes widened in surprise.   
"Maybe you should ask, *Who* happened?" Jadeite said.   
"Did you meet someone?" Malachite asked in anticipation. Then,   
Endymion's face crumbled into his usual stony, serious expression.   
He turned and faced the one guard who had not yet spoken.   
"Zoisite, tell me everything you know about timed teleportations."   
Zoisite didn't even look up from his book while responding somewhat   
mechanically.   
"A timed teleportation is the Terran theory that someone with   
a concentrated amount of energy can transport himself physically   
or spiritually from one place to another. It is believed that   
those planets of the Silver Millenium reign have royalty of this  
ability, and perhaps even machines with the power."   
"Royalty..." Endymion mused.   
"Endymion?" Malachite asked.   
"And what about the name 'Serenity'?" Zoisite dropped his book   
in surprise.   
"W-What did you say?" Nephrite stuttered, shocked that the Prince   
would ask about such a person.   
"I said Serenity. What's the big deal?" Endymion questioned  
suspiciously.   
"S-Serenity is..." Jadeite started.   
"The Crown Princess of the Silver Millenium Kingdom on the Moon."   
Zoisite finished quietly.   
Endymion's eyes were unnaturally wide and his face pale when   
Zoisite finished.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
End of Part 2A 


	4. The End Of Forever (2C)

Title: Only 16  
Part: 2C(Didn't I tell you?)  
  
Rating: PG-13! (Maybe PG in this chapter...^_^;)  
  
By: Azurite/Andromida  
Email: sailor_andromida@yahoo.com  
Sites: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/  
members.xoom.com/sailor_azure  
www.delphi.com/sailorstuff/  
members.delphi.com/andromida/  
Disclaimer: Has anyone else noticed that I've just  
been cutting and pasting things from my last chapter?  
If you haven't, shame on you! That means you aren't  
reading things that we authors slave over! However,   
if you are reading this, then there is no shame  
on you at all, as you are being a good fan. After  
all, people like you recognize that authors like us  
waste our time HANDWRITING the parts to the stories   
you email us to finish (and though we usually forget  
your name, albeit the fact we reply) in our journals,   
notebooks and Moonie Binders, we get it done, at all  
hours of night. All while saying this simple phrase:  
SAILOR MOON ISN'T MINE/OURS.   
Greets: To my Onee-chan's, Sailor Peace and JLaLa,   
who, even though I haven't talked to them in   
the longest time (this is what I get for getting  
a job to become an offical webmistress...), are  
still out there, hopefully wondering when the heck  
the next part of this story will come out. And here  
it is, just like I promised! Oh and of course, to   
my somewhat annoying imouto, Skylight. (Same old, same old)  
Other: Teen Parenting is not impossible nor rare. If you  
or someone you know is or will be a teen parent, tell them   
to tell someone else, be it friend, family, doctor or  
prenatal care specialist. I'm only adding this note for two  
reasons: 1)my health ed class just learned about this and  
from what I've heard, it's not fun, easy or worth the... pleasure.   
2)I like stories with some kind of moral, Sailormoon or not.   
******************************************************************  
BEEPBEEPBEEP  
Serena bolted upright in bed at the sound of the annoying   
clock. That last dream... it had been so intense and real...  
there were so many details!  
"Wha?" Amy stumbled into Serena's room sleepily, apparently  
have been woken up from a sleep herself.   
Resolutely, Serena slammed her palm down on the clock, making  
the noisy beeping stop, and the plug to the clock come out.   
"Guess it's 4:40." Serena mumbled sleepily.   
"Yuh-huh." Amy agreed, rubbing her eyes.   
The two girls had two cans of Cola to wake them up, and after they  
had discussed Serena's latest dream, the phone rang.   
"That'd be Dr. Cunningham." Serena said nervously, edging   
towards the phone.   
"Hello?"   
"Serena? This is Dr. Cunningham."   
"Hi. Um..."   
"We have the results. Now I know this is rather impersonal, over   
the phone, but you asked for the results to be given this way, and  
we have a policy..."   
'TELL ME!!'   
"...Finding the father was rather easy. He is a part-time med   
student here at Juuban. Darien Shields." Serena's breath caught in   
her throat as she managed a smile.   
"Thank you, Dr. Cunningham."   
"Don't forget to make an appoinment every month or so so that I   
can check on your progress. Congratuations again, Serena."   
"Thanks." Serena placed the reciever back on the cradle and smiled  
weakly at Amy.   
"It's him?" Amy asked, sipping her soda.   
Serena only nodded.   
'I knew it.' Amy thought to herself.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Weren't you going to tell everyone anyways?"   
"Yes... just before the attack, I had planned to tell everyone,   
but now..."   
"Now?" Amy prodded.   
"Now, I know why I wanted to keep it a secret for as long as I   
had... about two hours, maybe." Serena smiled.   
"I didn't want everyone thinking I had to be taken care of.   
It was bad enough when you all found out I was the princess. Everyone  
risked themselves for me, or treated me as less than a scout, and   
more like a burden."   
"We never thought you were a burden!" Amy cried, shocked.   
"I know that now... it's just like you were all my friends  
BEFORE we became scouts, and then becoming scouts was just another   
thing we had in common, linking us to each other. But still... I   
never wanted you guys to put your dreams on hold for me, to feel   
you had an obligation to me."   
"I know we don't. But the point is, without you, we'd all  
be alone. So the most natural thing for us to do is to stick by  
you, as your friends, your guardians, and your sisters."   
"Thank you." Serena whispered quietly.   
"Not just me you know. If they really do know, you better  
tell them everything, before they end up asking DARIEN questions."   
"EEP. Good point. I'll call them over."   
In moments, Serena had called the whole gang over, and they  
were due to arrive back at her house in twenty minutes. Although  
Serena suspected they all knew WHY she was calling them over, and  
they'd be there sooner.   
And she was right. Ten minutes passed before the first bell  
from downstairs rang, and it turned out all three girls were   
downstairs.   
"Explanation." Mina stated.   
"Now." Lita added.  
"Long, Good, Complete." Raye ordered.   
"From the beginning?" Serena asked.  
"The very beginning." Lita nodded.   
"Welll..."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"About three months back, I had this dream. It was rather  
hazy, and kind of short, but it had a big message. In the dream,   
Endymion and I... or rather, Endymion and Serenity... they made  
love to each other. It was a few days later when I started feeling  
sick, as you guys must all remember from that day at the temple.  
I went to the doctor's three days later, and my physician recommended  
I see another doctor, because I was 'of that age'. Dr. Cunningham   
was the doctor I saw, and she confirmed that I was pregnant. I was  
only a few weeks to a month in, though, so no one would notice for   
a while. I kept on going back for more tests and brochures and stuff,   
but the main thing was that in order to support my baby, I'd need  
money. Money that I didn't have. So, I checked the Want Ads, but no  
one had a job for a 16 year-old pregnant girl. Andrew was the only  
one who didn't care. Of course, he didn't -and still doesn't- know I'm pregnant, but he still gave me the job. I worked there for a month without anyone noticing. I did know that my parents would mutilate me  
if I relied on them entirely for this baby, so when I had enough  
money, I paid the down payment on this place. Andrew gave me   
an advance paycheck for the first month's rent, and I moved out  
of my old house. The explanation I gave was truthful, and hard,   
but I eventually told my parents why I wanted -needed- to move  
out. That I was pregnant, had a great paying job at a respectable  
place, and that was that. I was moving out. I thought for sure  
that my dad would blow his top, trying to find out who father was  
when I didn't -couldn't- even know. But he didn't. Sometimes I wonder  
if they know about my whole alter-egos situation, but... nah. In any  
case, I keep in touch with them, because they're my family, and to  
check on Luna, who, as you know, decided to stay there with Rini.   
(*Remember her?!*) So that's how I got this place. Last night was  
the first attack since Grim Man, since I found out I was pregnant.   
Luckily, Rini didn't find out, and thanks to Luna, she got home  
safe on her own, while all you worrywarts and Darien took me home.   
Of course, because I had told you I had moved out as one month into  
my pregnancy, or two months ago, you all knew where my place was. And  
strangely, enough, none of you ever asked how I had gotten the money  
to live here. Maybe you all thought my parents wanted to get rid of me,   
but in any case, you all knew I lived here, and you had stayed over   
a couple of times... but that was it. When Amy found out the other   
night, I was kind of in denial. I wanted her to tell me I was  
pregnant, because I didn't want to admit it myself. And just like   
I knew, hearing from Amy, it wouldn't be a lie, or something that  
I was just dreaming about. Which is why you all believed it the  
first time you heard about it... or rather, the first time Raye  
heard it and told it to you. Thankfully, you all knew better  
than to pester Amy when Darien was in the room, so he still doesn't   
know. And that's that."   
"Wow." Lita murmured.  
"I'll say." Mina added, her eyes wide.   
"..." Raye was silent.  
"WOW!" Raye finally blurted, hugging Serena.   
"Um, Ow!"  
"Sorry, Sorry, are you okay?" Raye fretted suddenly.   
"Raye, it's okay, I'm fine."   
"Serena, you mentioned you had had a dream at the beginning   
that kind of clued you in to what was happening with you."   
"Yeah, I did. The first was so short, I barely remembered  
it until the second dream, just after I found out I was pregnant,   
happened. And then the third dream, last night, was more intense,   
more detailed. I was beginning to suspect that Darien was really   
involved, and that I hadn't been... assaulted or anything. Then,   
just this afternoon, before the DNA test I got earlier results came  
back, I had another dream that kind of confirmed my suspicions."  
"How so?"   
"It showed all the details of when Endymion and Serenity first   
met, first kissed, first... made love to each other. And I know  
*I'M* a virgin, so that was the only explanation."   
"And the test results?"   
"Darien... Darien is the father of the child I'm carrying."   
"Wow."   
"How?! How?!" Raye stuttered.   
"I think I can answer that." Amy said.   
"You can?!" Serena asked, astonished.   
"The Silver Imperium Crystal allowed us all to be reborn when  
we all died by the hand of Beryl over a thousand years ago, here,   
on present day Earth. And then again, when we all died in the attack   
against the Doom and Gloom Girls and Beryl in the present time. It's  
reasonable to assume that the power to rebirth us is in the Silver  
Crystal, and that power stems not from the crystal itself, but its   
user's heart."   
Four pairs of eyes turned to Serena questioningly.   
"Every time you wished we could be reborn, to live again, your  
heart, the most powerful souce of energy, granted the wish. The Crystal  
only healed our bodies and minds so the wish would be complete."   
"And this connects to Serena... how?" Raye asked, motioning to  
Serena's swollen belly.   
"Serenity DID know about the child back in the Silver Millenium.   
According to the story Serena told me, Serenity told Endymion the very  
day everyone died. Serenity knew it was pointless to live without   
Endymion, and that was why she threw herself into the blast Beryl sent  
at them. But deep inside, she DID want the child to be reborn. That  
wish, the wish to bring a hardly formed life back into being, could  
only be granted with a tremendous amount of power, not just in Serena's  
heart, either. So when her power level was the same as back then, the  
child was 'reborn' INSIDE Serena."   
"Ooooohhhh..." Everyone chorused in understanding.   
"Do you really think that's the case?"   
"It's possible, logical... and... well, I can't think of any other  
way, scientifically." Amy blushed. In return for her response, she got  
two pairs of rolled eyes and two lopsided smirks.   
"I don't know." Serena whispered.   
"Serena?" Mina asked.   
"I'm just not sure of anything. Should I tell him... I mean,   
he has a right to know..."   
"He'll probably feel obligated to take care of you, just like  
you DON'T want." Amy pointed out.   
"Yeah, and remember, what kind of a father would he be, leaving   
his unborn child and girlfriend before he even knows about the kid?"   
Lita reminded her. At this, Serena was reminded of the dream she had  
had the other night... the way he had held her and looked at her.   
'He was so pale, and tired-looking. Is it possible he broke   
up with me because he thought he'd be the cause of my death again?'   
It was more than likely, as a matter of fact, considering how Darien  
dealt with emotions. He had probably had the dream too...   
"Yeah, maybe you guys are right." Serena found herself saying,   
despite what she really thought and felt.   
'Maybe they are...'   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Over the next few months, Serena and the girls did everything   
in their power to prevent Darien from seeing Serena. It even involved  
Andrew, who Serena had told the following day from the girls.   
"You're what?"   
"I'm... I'm... you heard me the first time, didn't you? You're  
not making me repeat this for effect, are you?"   
"Meh-muh..." Andrew stuttered. Serena couldn't help but smile.   
Andrew had been her friend for a long time, and Darien's for longer.   
He would understand best why she was telling him, and NOT Darien.   
"I'm pregnant. I've been working here to pay for my child's  
needs. I got my own apartment two months back to avoid hassling  
my parents, for the space, and for my child, above all. And it's   
all thanks to you, and your generous heart."   
"Zuh-Zuh..."   
"You gave me a job, and my baby hope. I hope you'll keep  
on letting me work here, because I need all the support money  
I can get without asking my parents and feeling guilty. And   
do not respond to this with 'Meh-muh' or 'Zuh-Zuh' or any other  
combination of syllables that don't form a word."   
"Wow." Andrew finally mumbled.   
"So you actually HEARD my story?"   
"Yeah, and Wow. Serena..."   
"If you are curious, Darien's the father."   
"HE IS?!"   
"Please don't tell him. He doesn't... I don't want him to know."  
Andrew's voice softened.   
"Why not?"   
"It's...It's just been too tough on us the past 6 months or so,   
maybe even longer, and telling him would just put more strain on him,   
and our lack of a relationship. I'm managing fine, anyways, so he  
doesn't NEED to know."  
"I understand."   
"Thank you."   
And that was the way it happened. Andrew and the girls prevented Darien  
from seeing Serena, and although it was 'for the best', Serena longed  
for him, just as much as he yearned for her. It was the link being   
reborn, along with the child inside her, the child that had never had  
the chance to grow.   
Time passed. The link was there, but it was weak. Serena hadn't  
transformed in over half a year, and had left all, if any, scout  
leader duties to Mina. Mina officially claimed herself as Serena's  
cousin, in this life (and the last), and this tidbit of news was spread   
around the Tsukino, Aino and friends families.   
"I'm gonna be an auntie!" Mina had cried enthusiastically when she  
finally found the family tree proclaiming her relativity to Serena and  
her as yet unborn child. She must have been the most excited out of the  
scouts.   
Attacks only came once a month, if that, and so the scouts got  
to live a somewhat peaceful life.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serena was officially at the end of her second trimester, or six  
months pregnant. She was well rounded, and had to wear "official"   
maternity wear now. She was only allowed to work at the arcade for  
half the time she used to, but made up for the lack of hours by   
working at home, testing out new receipes to be added to the Parlor  
menu and fixing (or as Mina had slyly put it, rigging) broken games.   
Her house looked like a strange mix between a nursery (with  
what had been Amy's room being converted into the nursery), a  
mod young adult's house, and an arcade, with games set in corners and  
along walls.   
Serena was never dependent on any of the girls, who were still  
in school. Serena didn't "drop out", per se, she simply didn't attend.   
She still did all the work, read her text... having a baby meant   
needing knowledge, and Serena didn't want to be an uneducated mother...  
In fact, her role model was Dr. Cunningham, who had told Serena on  
her appointment earlier that she herself had been a teen mother,   
and attended night school during her pregnancy in order to pass  
high school. And she had two part-time jobs that allowed her to pay  
for her own place, as well as get everything she needed for the baby.   
When she finally had her child, it was summertime, so she didn't have  
to worry about school. By the end of the summer, the father found out,   
and asked to marry Dr. Cunningham, who had been, back then, Laura   
Detweiler.  
The father took care of the child during the day while Laura  
attended Med School and college, and within half the time expected for  
a teen mother, Laura had her degree and PHd in Gynecology.   
"I wanted to help other girls who were teen mothers too."   
Dr. Cunningham had told Serena when she asked why she chose Gynecology.   
"I have the same idea... in a way. I want to be a nurse, and   
help cheer people up when they're sick. My friends all say that it's  
my best trait."   
"Well, then, you'll be an excellent mother, because, more often  
than not, your baby will run to you whenever it's upset."   
"Yeah..."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Drat." Serena was out of milk, and this was that time of  
year when going out and getting something was foolish, especially  
when you didn't have a car. Probably because there was an 85% of getting  
caught in a thunderstorm.   
'I need milk, though!' Serena had the weirdest cravings at the  
weirdest times, and currently, macaroni, which required milk to be  
made, was the latest one.   
"Well... I'll do it. No one ever said I didn't have guts." Serena  
grabbed an umbrella, slipped on her heavy white sweatjacket over her  
maternity jumper-dress with long sleeves, and left.   
She never even thought to call the other girls, or even Andrew...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serena wore her mini-backpack, in order to carry the quart of milk she intended to get. She couldn't carry anything with her arms; they'd get too tired too fast, and Serena didn't want that.   
It turned out that it was only overcast when Serena went outside,   
and somewhat bright. Serena thought this was the perfect time to read.   
She had a small paperback book on parenting stuffed away in her   
sweatjacket pocket, and she started reading it as she walked down the   
street. She needed both hands free, so she had stuffed her umbrella into the too-small-for-that backpack.   
Halfway to the market, Serena bumped into someone.   
"Umph!"   
'Great, I'm *still* a clutz. What kind of a mom will I be,   
dropping my baby's bottle before I can even bring it?'   
"Let me help you." The voice registered in Serena's mind  
as familar... and she suddenly realized why. Her heart   
jumped wildly to her throat, which was burning with the longing  
to say his name...  
"Darien..." Serena whispered, barely audible. But Darien  
DID hear her, for she had whispered it as he was on his way   
down to pick up the fallen book. His eyes glanced up, and   
before the pieces slipped into place, his mind registered  
two things.  
1) a pregnant woman  
2) with six feet of long blonde hair  
And then he saw the book, labeled 'Parenting' on the cover. And then...  
somewhere kind of far away, he heard his name being whispered. How  
did this woman know his name? How was it she had the same crystalline  
eyes as his beloved Serena, who he ached to see?   
'S-Serena?!'   
A crack of lightning and a rumble of thunder interruped his  
thought processing. A light rain began to fall, and Darien found   
himself rising, and speaking from instinct, like he was operating  
on auto-pilot.   
"Come on, you'll get sick." Darien wrapped his arm around her  
shoulders, and holding her tight, led Serena to his car parked around  
the block. He had had the full intention of going to the aracde, in some far hope that his beloved Serena would be there, even if he could only look at her, and not even speak with the goddess that ruled his heart.   
Another clap of thunder, and Serena pushed herself harder  
against him, terrified. Her old self was screaming Self-Preservation  
and insisted that no matter what she was going to have to tell him,   
she should go with him.   
In moments, she was in his car, strapped in safely. Darien   
made sure 'everything was all right' before stepping back into the  
rain and walking to the driver's side of the car.   
When he got in, Serena stole a glance at him. Albeit she felt  
nauseous, and VERY nervous, she was glad to be with him again, even  
if it meant sitting through a thunderstorm.   
The rainwater had fallen on him in such a way that his midnight  
eyes looked even easier to drown in, that his slick hair looked slicker, and each one of his well-cut muscles was outlined underneath his wet polo shirt.   
Serena turned away from him, depsite how... well, he looked like  
a god to her, and he was her savior from the rain no less!   
He looked back at her at that moment, and more directly than the stolen glimpses of her staring at him appreciatively from the side and rear view mirror. She was wet herself, but it didn't matter. She was with child. That must have been why, in the few attacks that he saw,   
whether as a first-hand witness or on the news, Sailor Moon was never  
present. And why Andrew and the girls gave him strange looks whenever  
he was around.   
He looked back at the road just as the turn he needed to make   
came up. Carefully, he signaled and turned, pulling into the garage  
of his apartment complex. He had no idea why he brought her here, but  
at this point, that didn't matter either. The whole idea was to   
keep her warm, safe and happy. And getting some questions answered   
in the process wouldn't hurt...  
The unlocking of the doors snapped Serena out of her reverie,   
and when she looked to her left, Darien was nowhere to be seen.   
The door on her right opened, the seatbelt slid past her shoulder, and a warm hand brought her out of the car.   
"Uh... Thank you..." Serena stuttered. He only smiled that  
melt-your-knees smile. Still holding her hand, he led her to the   
elevators, while avoiding the breaks in the ceiling where heavy amounts   
of rainwater poured down.   
'With child... is she married as well?' Darien stole a glance  
at the left hand of his beloved in his hand. It was bare. A   
powerful thought rose in his head, and he found himself subconsciously  
gulping.   
'Wedlock?'   
The elevator *dinged*, and Darien led Serena to his apartment. He  
fumbled for the key in his pocket, and when he finally found it,   
and unlocked the door, they stumbled in. Each removed their shoes,   
but after that, the heavy silence lapsed again.   
In an attempt to compensate, Darien wandered off to the kitchen  
to make cocoa.   
It was done in a few minutes, so Darien offered a mug to Serena,   
who was sitting silently on the couch, rubbing her stomach.   
"Would you like some?"  
"Yes please, Darien."   
It stung, calling him by his entire name. He had always liked it   
when she called him Dare, and he called her Sere. It was like they  
lived in a private world together, and no one could change that.   
No one but himself.   
'It sounds like what she'd call someone she respected, not someone she loves.' Darien wanted to punch himself. He gave her the cocoa and then went into his bedroom to change.  
Serena removed her wet sweatjacket and placed it over the heater   
vent, making sure it was not too close, or it'd catch on fire.   
She sipped the rich cocoa slowly, savoring its warmth, its taste.   
'It tastes like Darien.'   
'DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT!!' She reprimanded herself.   
'Why not?' The naughty part of her mind asked.   
Before she could 'respond' to herself, Serena had doubled to the   
carpeted floor in pain.   
Darien had just emerged from the bedroom, where he had been  
changing out of his wet clothes.   
"Sere?" He asked, truly concerned.   
Serena's expression of pain melted into a smile, and then back again  
as the sharp jabs in her stomach increased.   
"Dare... Darien.... it kicked... our baby kicked!" Serena   
whispered, tears filling her eyes. Serena had grabbed Darien's   
hand as he kneeled beside her in concern, and placed it on her  
stomach, where the baby was kicking happily.   
If it was possible for Darien to go porcelain-white and granite-hard, he did just that, all in a matter of seconds. He was much too pale for a healthy 19 year old.   
"Our...Our baby?" Darien croaked.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
End of Part 2C, and all the 2's. YAY! After this, it'll be part 3!  
Aren't you excited!? EMAIL ME!!  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Part 3: Friends

Title: Only 16  
Story One in the Cries for Help Trilogy  
Part: 3 (*Cheers go up, the weapons go down, and Azurite's  
inbox slowly empties...*)   
By: Azurite  
Email: **!!** azurite_moon@yahoo.com **!!**  
Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/  
Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I could be making moola  
off of this, I really don't desire to be sued... so here  
I am, disclaiming any and all ownership of Sailor Moon and its  
respective characters.   
Notes: Hey, join my Mailing List!  
www.onelist.com/community/sailorfic_review  
Greets: To any and all who emailed me, nagged me, threatened to kill  
me if I didn't finish this part... you know who you are... there are too  
many to name at once.   
Dedicates: This part is soley dedicated to Lady Setsuna. You know why.   
***********************************************************************She sipped the rich cocoa slowly, savoring its warmth, its taste.   
'It tastes like Darien.'   
'DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT!!' She reprimanded herself.   
'Why not?' The naughty part of her mind asked.   
Before she could 'respond' to herself, Serena had doubled to the   
carpeted floor in pain.   
Darien had just emerged from the bedroom, where he had been  
changing out of his wet clothes.   
"Sere?" He asked, truly concerned.   
Serena's expression of pain melted into a smile, and then back again  
as the sharp jabs in her stomach increased.   
"Dare... Darien.... it kicked... our baby kicked!" Serena   
whispered, tears filling her eyes. Serena had grabbed Darien's   
hand as he kneeled beside her in concern, and placed it on her  
stomach, where the baby was kicking happily.   
If it was possible for Darien to go porcelain-white and granite-  
hard, he did just that, all in a matter of seconds. He was much too pale   
for a healthy 19 year old.   
"Our...Our baby?" Darien croaked.  
***********************************************************************Serena went white and she gasped audibly. She hadn't... hadn't   
meant to say that, had she?  
"Wh-Well, what I mean is... I... And this is... Oh damn..."   
Serena's stomach began to churn, and she rubbed her belly to soothe  
the pain it was causing her and her child. It was a slow, circular   
motion, warm and caring. She concentrated herself on this, hoping...  
maybe he'd forget? Or maybe with some luck, he'd just faint or   
something...   
'Yeah right. This guy, the guy who manages to wake up after being  
stabbed in the back... will faint when he finds out he's a dad.'   
However, the memory of that incident... brought back the same tears,   
the pain, and all the hurt...   
Darien had collapsed onto his knees beside her, and with   
emotionless eyes, followed the movement of her hand across her swollen   
belly. How many times had he wished it would be like this? Well, never,   
nothing like THIS, not exactly like it was! And she was unmarried!   
And...   
'We never... never... did *anything*... so it cannot be my   
child...' Darien felt his heart due a double beating on his ribs, and  
the pain inside from not seeing her increased tenfold now that he had.   
'She is no longer chaste... no longer mine to have or hold.   
There... There is another.' (A/N: No! Not like Yoda!)  
'Perhaps she was never yours. You took her for granted, gave her   
reason to believe it was over... YOU TOLD HER SO! And she believed it... Now she has found doubt in you forever, and happiness with another.'   
Darien hated these thoughts; he felt so contemptous. So, it was  
his fault that all of this had happened, but no one could blame him-  
he DID try to reconcile with her!  
'Hugging her doesn't count, you fool.' He reminded himself of  
that night painfully. That night... that night... three months ago...  
SHE HAD BEEN PREGNANT THEN?!  
"You're joking right?" Darien finally managed. Serena stopped  
her soothing movements, and stared at him blankly.   
'J-Joking?! He thinks I'm joking... but...'   
Serena shook her head to clear the conflicting emotions invading it.   
Anger... for him not believing her was a sign that he didn't trust her,   
as a friend, as a lover, as a companion or even as an enemy. At all...  
Sadness... He didn't believe her, and his trust meant the world to her.   
It broke her heart in two. Disbelief. Had she ever lied to him? No. And yet, deep inside, she knew some things he had said to her, even AFTER they were together as a couple, were false. And now, when she wanted to lie the most... she didn't. And he still didn't believe her.   
Shock. He... He didn't believe her?! About something as serious as this? Heartbreak. He didn't WANT to believe it. He didn't want to think that such a precious connection to Serena could have happened.   
Remembrance. He didn't know it was his child, did he?   
Serena was silent. Darien didn't know what to make of this   
response... all her knew was that his head and his heart were throbbing  
painfully, and he needed some air. Rubbing his temples, he stood up   
abruptly and walked briskly to the balcony. The door slid open easily,   
and there, at his balcony, in the slight rain, he stood.   
At first, Serena didn't notice, and when she did, she was mad.   
Mad for leaving her like this. Sad that he had to find out because of  
a slip of her tongue. Simply confused, however, was more like it.   
She decided to explain herself, because if he was REALLY becoming the   
man he had been before they were together, hard-shelled and uncaring,   
and she was the one he once claimed "could break through his shell",  
then he needed to know. For ALL their sakes.   
The door had been left open, and so when she stepped outside,   
he didn't hear her. She placed two small, pale hands on the balcony  
railing, and looked out at the misted skyline. Every building was  
covered or surrounded by a gray haze.   
"It's beautiful." She finally commented, breaking the silence.   
Darien was silent a moment. He bit his lip and then replied,   
emotionlessly, "Is it?"   
"It is. How something we see everyday, so apart of our lives...  
so taken for granted, looks so mysterious and enticing after something  
we run away from."   
"Poetry of the rain."   
"What?"   
"You commented on the rain, and how it affected one's point of   
view of the skyline... the buildings we see everyday, that we work in.   
We take them for granted, in one way or another. And they look so  
mysterious and enticing, as you said?"   
"They do. The things we take for granted slip through our fingers, but that doesn't mean that once they're gone, they lose their beauty, or we can never see them... never have them again."   
Darien stole a glance at the profound woman standing beside him.   
It was true, then. She was a woman now, even at the young age of 16.   
It seemed as if she always had been, for she had been through so much...  
'I see the pain in your eyes, I see the truth that never dies.'   
'Where did I hear that from?' Darien thought.   
*FLASH*  
It was almost two years back. When he had remembered nothing,   
and she remembered everything. What torment that must have been for   
her. What he remembered was when he realized he loved her... long  
before his memories came back.   
"You-You found someone else to help take care of Jordan, didn't   
you? I-I guess then, I'll be going and-" Darien could see the tears  
forming in her eyes, the sparkles that flew from them when she turned   
away so abruptly. He didn't like to see her hurting; he didn't know why. He groaned internally and shot his arm out. She stiffened under hiswarm touch, and slowly turned.   
"D-Darien?"   
"Serena, you know I didn't mean it that way. You know I'd never  
replace you with..." Darien made a face that turned Serena's frown into  
a slight smile, "Ann."   
Before he went on, and ranted about how she was so caring, and  
kind, and beautiful, and someday would make some man very happy, and  
some child the best mother... she paled.   
"Look!" She moved forward a good yard from her place near the  
door, and pointed towards Jordan. The small, red-headed child was  
standing, on a pair of wobbly feet... and walking!!  
Both teens were astounded beyond belief... and they watched in  
awe as Jordan toddled his way across the room to the tissure box he   
loved so much.   
Jordan happily pulled out the cotton tissues from their box  
again, giggling merrily as if nothing had happened. Serena turned  
to Darien, her eyes sparkling with HAPPY tears, and a light  
flush staining her perfect features.   
"You owe me twenty bucks, pal!" Darien smiled, and then when   
Serena turned away to play with Jordan, an expression of shock took  
over his face.   
'You WERE going to tell her you loved her... because you do!'   
'I-I'm in love with Serena? No, I'm IN LOVE, with Serena!'   
Darien smiled to himself privately before kneeling at her side  
and playing with Darien. When they rose, she bounced around happily.   
"I told you so!" She reached her hand out for a high-five, but  
Darien grasped the small hand within his own instead. A bolt of   
electricity passed through them, and the warmth was undeniable.   
They raised their joined hands triumphantly, and Darien joined  
in her celebration... that was when Amy walked in.  
*FLASH*  
'Her eyes were what I loved most. Sparkling, always truthful.   
She's not lying is she?' Darien shifted yet again, uncomfortable,   
for now he was wet and upset for what he had said to Serena.   
"D-Do you want to go inside?"   
"Yeah, I guess so." Serena followed Darien inside, one hand  
relaxing on her belly, the other hanging limply at her side.   
'But maybe it was just a slip of the tongue...'   
'PLEASE, Darien! Can't we talk... even as friends?!'   
'And she is with another?'   
"Darien--"   
"Serena--" They both said simultaneously. Serena and Darien both  
smiled... they had done this before. They had said something at the  
same time, usually when they were both trying to express a shared   
emotion.  
"I-" Again, they both said it at the same time. This caused the  
couple to burst into fits of laughter. They collapsed next to each other on the couch, tears rolling down Serena's face as she leaned back on the cushions to support her sore back.   
Darien paused midway, noting the tears. He didn't like to see her   
in tears... happy or not. Too many times he had been the cause of her   
tears, and that was stopping, here and now.  
He moved closer to her, one hand holding up her chin with his  
finger, the other brushing away the spilling tears.   
Her eyes opened abruptly, and the laughter died a painless death.   
No words were exchanged... her eyes started to flutter in nervousness.  
She was uncomfortable. He could see it in those eyes.   
'What am I thinking? I can't... I can't do that!'Darien scolded  
himself mentally. He backed away, removing the hand from her face and   
under her chin.   
A slip of cold filled her face where his hand had been. It had  
always been that he was the missing part of her, he completed her in   
ways she had never known. And she was feeling that way now. As if   
all that she had missing for so long was finally within her reach  
again. She needed it... needed *him* so badly...   
"Darien..."   
Darien's eyes opened at the sound of his name, and he saw an   
unreadable expression on his beloved's face. Her perfect features,   
long, golden hair framing her delicate face, sparkling eyes...  
Serena opened her mouth to speak, but what came forth was  
a racking cough. Again and again she coughed until she moved her  
hand... it was stained an unhealthy shade of wet, red.   
She continued coughing and choking until the pain was too   
much for her, and she collapsed onto the couch, weakly.   
"Serena! Don't do this to me!" She heard dimly in the background.   
'Darien? Do you still care for me?'   
Her eyes faded into blackness as the pain increased... her baby...   
something was wrong... it hurt everywhere...   
'Darien... don't... don't leave me...'   
"I love you..." Serena whispered before fainting.   
***********************************************************************  
Part 3 folks! HAH! I told you it'd be short!! *NYAH NYAH*  
I like Ranma too, so when I'm ALL done with all my leftovers and such,   
another crossover is coming your way!   
Azurite out! ^_^   
  
  



	6. Part 4: Danger Within

Only 16  
Part 4 (REVISED)  
By Azurite  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Thank you Marni for your help!!  
Sailormoon isn't mine.   
Stormlight, Jlala, Sailor Peace and   
Alicia Blade rule. Lady Starra,   
Lady Setsuna and all those other   
greats out there too.   
Slightly longer, but no guarantees.   
Join my ML: www.onelist.com/community/sailorfic_review  
Visit my Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
RECAP:   
Serena opened her mouth to speak, but what came forth was  
a racking cough. Again and again she coughed until she moved her  
hand... it was stained an unhealthy shade of wet, red.   
She continued coughing and choking until the pain was too   
much for her, and she collapsed onto the couch, weakly.   
"Serena! Don't do this to me!" She heard dimly in the background.   
'Darien? Do you still care for me?'   
Her eyes faded into blackness as the pain increased... her baby...   
something was wrong... it hurt everywhere...   
'Darien... don't... don't leave me...'   
"I love you..." Serena whispered before fainting.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Acting on instinct as soon as her eyelids fell closed, Darien  
propped his beloved up on the couch, and saw with a sickening fright  
her hands... covered in blood. She had coughed up blood?! There  
was something VERY wrong here...   
Serena had moaned terribly, in more pain than he had ever seen  
her encounter from a Negaverse attack... and she had whispered words  
he had longed to hear, told him she loved him? But... then the father  
of her child? She hadn't been... GODS, no, IT COULD NOT BE POSSIBLE!  
Darien shoved aside those vicious thoughts that angelic Serena   
could have been... raped... and immediately called the paramedics.  
Within ten minutes, they had come in and brought the both of them to a  
hospital via an ambulance.   
  
***  
  
He buried his face in hands... they were covered in sweat.   
Sticky, cold sweat. Damnit! It wasn't supposed to be like this!!  
"Darien?" Darien looked up at the sound of the familiar  
voice, and through blurry eyes, found himself face to face with  
Rini.  
"Rini?" The small child nodded, her cinnamon eyes threatening  
to spill forth unwanted tears. How many times had that happened to   
Serena... what seemed like so long ago? She hadn't seen Serena since   
Serena had saved her from the monster... how long ago was that?   
Several months, Rini knew.   
"I... Aunt Ilene brought me here when the doctors told her  
about what happened to Serena. Uncle Ken and her are filling out  
papers in the lobby. What-What are you doing here?"   
"Sere-" Here, Darien choked, to avoid NOT saying her name  
of endearment,   
"-na was at my apartment... when... when..."   
"Mr. Shields?" A doctor's voice interrupted the short  
conversation Rini and Darien had.   
"Yes?" He whispered hoarsely.   
"Dr. Cunningham wishes to speak to you about Serena now."   
Darien cast a tired smile at Rini, who sat down in a plastic  
chair and waited for Ken and Ilene to return. Darien vanished  
into the office, and shut the door.   
He inhaled deeply, knowing he would have to talk. Shuddering  
while talking because he had spent his breath on sobbing in that   
brief interval of time before the paramedics arrived was not something  
he planned on doing. He ran a finger through greasy, wet hair and  
opened his eyes.   
The woman before him was a medium-height dirty blonde, with   
sparkling green eyes. A cluttered desk and crooked nameplate that  
read "Dr. Laura Cunningham" identified her.   
"Darien Shields?" The woman asked, for confirmation. The word  
'yes' was there, but it didn't come. Numbly, Darien nodded.   
'Serena... I can see how much he loves you, just from this  
three-second meeting. Oh child, how wrong you were!'  
"I know about you and Serena... I'm her gynecologist,   
and in order to find out HOW she had gotten pregnant, we had to   
explore all possibilities..."   
"She wasn't raped, was she?" Darien blurted suddenly, tears   
brimming in his eyes.   
'He doesn't know... she never told him?!' Suddenly Dr. Cunningham  
realized why Serena had been acting the way she had... asking for the   
results over the phone, her relief when she heard the name... and the  
fear in her eyes in every appointment as they went to different   
departments, talking to doctors and teen parents alike. She was afraid   
he'd see her, and he didn't know... which led Laura to the conclusion   
that they weren't as close as she'd thought. In fact, they might have   
even been broken up, and Serena would have been terrified if he knew...  
but that brought up the question: why had they broken up if he   
so apparently loved her so? It was the only reason why she didn't tell   
him...  
Laura smiled, but that did nothing to ease his fear. In fact, it   
only made the anxiety worse.   
"No, Darien. Serena was NOT raped. The child is legitimate,   
according to Serena, but if you didn't know about the child, I'm  
beginning to think she has been keeping something from the both of  
us."   
"If I... didn't know?" Darien didn't quite understand. Why would  
he know? And if the child was legitimate, didn't that mean Serena knew  
who the father was, and WHO she... who she... had GIVEN herself to?!  
'There is no other choice. I'm sorry Serena, but I have to tell   
him.'   
"Darien... the child is yours."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serena woke up... in a hospital room. She had been here enough   
to know what they looked like from the inside out. And the training she  
got as a nurse, due to the fact she couldn't work at the arcade while  
pregnant, she knew all the tools... all the machines... everything.   
She was in the Intensive Care unit. She didn't remember everything that  
had happened, only that her throat tasted salty, and her head throbbed.   
She couldn't see too well, but from what she could make out,   
she was alone in the room. Where... where was Darien?   
'Oh dear god... what if... he finds out?'   
'Didn't you want him to?'   
'NOT THIS WAY!' Serena blinked back tears and turned on her side,   
only to find herself extremely uncomfortable. Then it hit her like  
a ten ton rock.   
The salty taste... blood. On her hand. Why? The churning, the  
unexpected kicking... the pain. The intense, burning pain!  
'What happened to my baby?!'   
Serena couldn't help herself; she began crying loudly. She couldn't  
feel... feel her baby anymore?   
"DARIEN!" Serena screamed, a sorrowful cry that was sent to the   
heavens themselves over her pain.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The blood began rushing in his ears long before he heard the  
answer to his question, and though it subsided somewhat when he  
learned she hadn't been raped...   
Then it began again... for some reason. But he made out the words  
formed on her lips.   
"Darien... the... child... is... yours..."   
"WHAT?" It came out as a breathed whisper, and he would have   
fainted dead away right there had it not been for the ache in his  
heart... the link! Serena needed him, and badly!  
Seconds later, a heart-wrenching cry emerged from Serena's  
room, startling the entire ICU floor.   
Darien heard her scream (how could he not) and immediatly   
ran out of the room to Serena.   
"Serena?!" As soon as he burst into her room, that was what  
he said, in fear, almost, that something horrible was happening to   
her.   
What he saw broke his heart and crushed his soul... Serena was  
crying painfully, and it looked like she wanted to move, wanted to bury  
her face in her blankets and sink away into the mattress- but could not.   
He rushed over to her and began wiping the tears away, heedless  
of her cries and moans.   
"The baby... why can't I feel my baby? No... please lord..."   
Dr. Cunningham stood silently in the doorway, the figures of Serena's  
friends and her family outlined in shadows behind her.   
She shut the door quietly and prepared to tell the kindest girl  
in the world, the worst news imaginable.   
"Serena... Darien." Darien and Serena hadn't heard the soft   
whisper, and Laura hadn't really expected them to. Poor Serena...   
she wouldn't take this well. What mother-to-be would?   
"SERENA." Laura repeated it louder, closer to the couple,   
and with a demanding tone that required attention.   
Serena's wails subsided, and Darien fingers wiped away the   
remaining tears. Darien, wordlessly, shifted Serena in his arms  
so she sat up somewhat, and Laura saw how miserable the girl looked.   
Red eyes, contrasting the usual blue they sparkled with,   
frail, pale skin and thin tangles of damp hair collected behind her  
fragile head.   
"L-Laura." Serena managed. Laura nodded, allowing the   
formalities most hospitals required to be dropped in this special  
case.   
"Serena... I have some bad news."   
"Oh no... no, please no..." Serena started muttering. Tears began   
flowing softly yet again, and Darien put it upon himself to TRY and  
console the poor girl.   
'He just found out himself... oh my...'   
"I'm afraid..." Laura fought the urge to console the girl who was  
like her daughter herself. No, this position had to be strictly   
formal... except for the first name basis.   
"That the baby has turned." Darien and Serena both looked up in   
surprise. Serena, for her part, was expecting something much worse,   
and Darien had only decided to start listening because his beloved's  
cries had ceased.   
"T-Turned?" Serena stuttered, unsure of what it meant.  
"The baby has turned on it's side. If you try giving birth  
like that, several things could happen."   
"The worst of which," Laura continued breathlessly, "Would be  
the baby would be stillborn, due to the umbilical cord choking  
it and cutting off food and air supply... or you would die."   
"S-Serena..." Darien breathed, staring at her intensely.   
"Or... you could have a new technique-- it's similar to a C-section...  
but we risk permanently damaging your reproductive system, and you   
would unable to give birth to another child."   
Serena's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widened. But...  
"There isn't any way you can... turn it back?" Serena asked,   
frightened. She didn't want to die before she got to see her baby...  
her baby's smile, its laugh... its first word!  
Laura smiled and then looked up, noting the two were holding  
hands tightly.   
"I wish it were that simple, Serena, I really do. But... the best  
you can do right now is hope that the baby will turn back. But you need  
to take it easy for the rest of your pregnancy."   
"T-Take it easy? But how will I get my work done? How will I   
complete night-school?" Serena had enrolled in the same night school as  
Laura had, and was going to nurse's school after she graduated in two   
years.   
"Serena, Dr. Cunningham's right. You... You have to take it  
easy." Darien finally managed. His hand was warm from holding hers,   
his own eyes sore from seeing her in so much pain, and crying himself.   
"Darien..." Serena looked at him lovingly... but then turned away  
in fear and shyness.   
"You haven't seen me in so long. You don't know what it's like,  
to be responsible for another life. I had to get a job, take night  
school after simply turning in work at Crossroads wasn't enough...  
and now, what will I do?"   
"You can stay with me. I won't let anything happen to you or  
the baby, Serena, you know that." The words flew out of his mouth  
before anything else could be said. Then silence reigned, and all was  
quiet.  
Serena turned to Darien, her eyes wide and sparkling with that   
old, familiar joy they had lost so long ago.   
"You'd really do that for me... for us?"   
"Serena..." Darien breathed, leaning in closer to her. His arms  
encircled her frail body and pulled her closer to him.   
"I'd do anything for you... and..." Darien blinked back tears,   
that had appeared unheeded, "Our child." Serena fought back the urge to  
laugh and cry at the same time, and hugged Darien back tightly.   
"Oh Darien!" Laura left the twosome alone in the room like that,   
and when Lita looked in later, after being too curious at to know what  
was going on, she found them sound asleep in each other's arms.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
End of Part 4  
Is that short? I hope not, it took me forever to write! Is it any  
good, or have I lost my touch! AHHH! Email me!   
  
  
  



	7. Substory#1: Amy

Title: Only 16  
Substory 1: Amy   
By: Azurite  
Email: azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  
Mailing List: www.onelist.com/sailorfic_review  
  
News: I'm working on revamping my page for real   
this time. I want everyone's feedback on what  
should be added/removed/changed to my page.   
Also working on a collaboration story with Usagi  
Chiba and Jlala. READ THEIR FICS... they ARE GOOD!  
  
Notes: Anyone in need of an editor? I'm offering  
my services, especially now, during winter break,   
when I have tons of free time.   
Congrats to Moondreams16 for winning Story of the  
Year at First Love, and all the runner-ups, they  
were great stories! (I read them all). And will  
SOMEONE tell Lilac Summers to finish "First Truths"?   
  
Disclaimer: I'm too preoccupied with getting all my  
anime pics onto floppies for Y2K to worry about whether  
Sailor Moon is mine or not. I mean, at the bottom of  
all the ASMR fic pages, it says (C) Naoko Takeuchi,   
yadda yadda. So you KNOW it's not mine, right? RIGHT.   
  
Survey: What, in your mind, is a clichéd story idea?   
And what is touché? Feedback please!   
******************************************************  
~*AMY*~  
  
I suppose I could say it all started that night  
at Raye's temple. See, Serena was acting kind of strange.   
Though if Raye were telling this story, she'd say Serena  
is ALWAYS acting strange. But that's besides the point.   
*I'M* the one telling this story.   
That night, Serena acted like her normal self...  
for a while.   
*FLASHBACK*  
"Raye... I don't feel so good..." Serena rose from  
the table where we were all sitting, just QUIETLY munching  
on some cookies Lita had made when she stumbled off to  
the bathroom.   
Everyone was immediately on the alert. Raye and Mina,   
more importantly, because they are cloest to Serena, Lita  
because she was afraid Serena was sick because of HER cookies  
(Impossible, I might add; her cookies are flawless) and me,   
well, because I'm Serena's friend too, and if she was sick,   
I was the best one to find out WHY, right?  
I am, after all, going to be a doctor! But Serena  
was in the bathroom, throwing up (like we COULDN'T hear)  
for almost a half-hour. When she was finished, she had made  
up her face and looked fine. She told us she was fine, but   
something... glassy about her eyes made me doubt her.   
She realized the time and ran from the temple,   
a little wobbly for someone who had just been standing  
as still as a stalk of corn a minute ago.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I spent the whole night worrying. For once, I didn't  
spend my evening getting ten chapters ahead in science,   
reading Shakespeare for fun, or something like that.   
I tried to go to sleep early for once... but I couldn't.   
My mind kept wandering back to Serena and why she was acting  
so strangely. There was that *something* in my head that told  
me I knew what it was... but I couldn't place it.   
'Is she anorexic? No... that's starving oneself...   
bulemic? No... Serena might binge, but she'd NEVER purge  
a good meal... or risk ruining the enamel on those pearly  
whites of hers... not that she knows about that...'  
I tossed and turned for hours, contemplating Serena and  
her mysterious bout of sickness.   
I finally got to sleep after reassuring myself... it  
was only the flu.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Amazingly enough, I didn't see Serena at all over the   
weekend. We always got together with the other girls for  
something, or Luna always insisted upon some kind of   
meeting. But this weekend, Luna didn't. She DID come over to  
my apartment and explain that Serena had doctor's appointments,  
and I supposed it was due to her illness.  
"Yes... Serena has been acting very strangely these past  
few days. She talks in her sleep, and then says she couldn't  
remember her dreams, or talking at all! She has strange  
cravings... not eating, or eating like a pig and then throwing  
it all up! I'm very worried..."   
I knew Luna was more of a motherly figure to Serena, and it  
wasn't just because she was the Princess. No, Luna had known  
Serena and I longer than the other girls, and we had both watched  
her grow up... from a whiny, ditzy teenager, to a young adolescent,   
to... a young lady. And now...  
She had been through so much, and now, there were the hardships  
of becoming a woman... and Serena was most certainly experiencing   
those. As a teen to a woman... Serena would have it the roughest,   
because she has 1000 years of experience to catch up on.   
When I saw Serena a few days later, she looked incredibly pale,   
glassy-eyed as before. In other words, still sick.   
"Serena, girl, you okay?" That was Mina... we were at a   
meeting, and Serena had just walked in.   
"Where in the name of Mars have you been?" Raye yelled, mad as  
usual. Sometimes, just SOMETIMES, I am tempted to freeze her, make   
her a little cooler with that fire-hot attitude of hers. But no...  
"I...I..." I couldn't believe that talkative Serena was  
stuttering for words now! Luna hadn't seen her in days either; she  
had been snuck into my place to help me design a time-space warp  
theory program, so I'm sure she was surprised too.   
"Um, Serena, what's wrong?" Mina asked again, sounding a little  
uncertain.   
"I...I..." Serena seemed to only have a one-letter vocabulary   
today.  
"Maybe we should let her be guys, she looks kinda sick." I said.   
'Kinda' hardly described it. Her skin was pasty and pale, her sparkling  
eyes... were not, and she looked ready to throw up... again.   
I saw Mina and Raye still cast worried glances at Serena, and then  
to each other. It was like they were having a private conversation with  
their eyes.   
Serena was ILL, that much was obvious, but hadn't she had a   
doctor's appointment the other day to find out what was wrong? Wasn't  
she taking some kind of medicine? I mean, not even the depression   
Serena suffered from after the breakup between her and Darien would  
be enough to make her NOT want to get healthy again... right?   
Before I could think again, Serena was standing up.   
The girls were all astonished to see her looking so ready to take off  
so soon.   
"Serena?" Lita asked.   
"Hmm? Oh, I'm so sorry guys... I just spaced out, you know,   
girl problems... um, oh gee, look at the time, I better go! BYE!"   
Serena grabbed her bag and shot out the temple.  
I didn't think 'girl problems' were to blame... if Serena  
had to come and go in five minutes... something definitely was   
wrong.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I tried calling her the next day, but her mother said she   
was out, and she didn't know where. If Serena hadn't had several  
HUNDRED possible hangouts, I would have attempted to look for her,   
but then again, even if I DID find her, what good would it do me?   
What would I say?   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
For the next two months, I saw less and less of Serena   
afterschool. She DID however, get better, and I dismissed that  
unusual sickness Serena had had as the flu. It was more than likely,   
and all the symptoms matched. Besides, it was all said and done with,   
why linger on the past?   
What surprised me though, was that Serena got her own  
apartment! I mean... Serena... in her own apartment! How...  
how could she afford a place? Her parents weren't going anywhere,   
they hadn't won the lottery, and to my knowledge, no one had left  
Serena a hefty inheritance. So why were they kicking her out, and into,   
what I later found out was a co-op condo apartment?  
She had her own furniture, very mod-looking, and it wasn't too  
cheap either. Then again, the house couldn't have been either. Two  
guest bedroom, one master bedroom. Full-size kitchen, bathroom, toilet  
room, carpeting, balcony and fireplace?! This girl had it all, and then  
some! And I thought I lived in a nice place because my mom was a doctor  
and got the salary the size of a Blue Whale!  
It only made me more suspicious.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The first attack in two months happened when I was walking through  
the park with Rini. Since Rini couldn't seem to get together with  
Serena, she settled for the other girls and I, and today just happened   
to be my babysitting turn. Not that I minded. Rini was very intelligent,  
and seeing as she already knew that we were Scouts, there was no harm  
in finding more about the enemy from her.   
"Hey Rini!" I smiled as I picked her up from the Tsukino's house.   
Rini, lately, was not as cheerful as she had been after she first   
arrived. Perhaps it was because she missed her family in the future,  
or perhaps, by some small chance, she really did miss Serena.   
I knew for a fact that her apartment in Azabu Juuban was   
NOT close to Serena's old hoouse, so she wouldn't visit often.   
Serena always had 'something to do', and she never told anyone what.   
Maybe she had a job, or something. I didn't really know for sure.   
Serena still came to school and everything, but it... it was just  
too hard to ask her what was going on.   
I never thought talking to one of my best friends would be hard.   
In any case, I was talking about the attack. It was my day   
babysitting, and Rini and I were walking through the park just after  
we'd had our Mint Chip ice cream.   
Suddenly, a familiar laugh echoed the parks, and Rini and I knew  
it was Emerald, most likely summoning a new droid.   
Indeed it was, but Emerald was already gone by the time we got  
on the scene. Instead, there was an ugly, horned droid wreaking  
havoc on the peaceful, formerly scenic park.   
I told Rini to stay hidden, and I transformed behind   
a cluster of bushes, just to be safe.   
I readied myself to give the "standard speech", as Serena   
called it. I took my place from behind the shrubs and then behind   
a tree, where I could surprise the droid and attack. But the droid  
turned and stared me straight in the eye, though I knew I was hidden.  
And Lita thinks the SHORT sailors have it easy. Well, SHE doesn't have  
to wear a BRIGHT BLUE miniskirt!  
"Hey you! Parks are meant to be peaceful, and for trying to   
destroy that peace, I will punish you in the name of Mercury! I am the   
intelligent soldier of ice, Sailor Mercury!"  
For the first time in my life, I gulped, loudly and visibly. That  
*thing* had teeth the size of my arm, horns the length of my legs...  
I was about to launch my "Shine Aqua Illusion" attack when the monster  
laughed. It took a few seconds before I realized that something was   
wrong with the picture... droids don't laugh. I punched the all call on my communicator and whispered a hoarse explanation before signing off,   
taking out my mini-computer, and scanning the thing. There was a complex  
system... and a camera? Indeed, I had found a camera embedded in its  
head... but the shape of the monster shifted before my eyes, and the   
fast change and negative energy had caused my computer to short circuit.  
I looked up from my mini-computer, and saw a hideous creature, unlike any youma, cardian or droid I had EVER seen before. No eyes, fangs, glistening, horns, long and white, and a blackish-red body covered in oily slime.   
The text thing I knew, a tentacle had shot out, squezed my chest to the point I thought I would die of asphyxiation, and then it all went black.  
When I came to, everything was white. All around me. No shrubs, no  
monster, and worst of all, no Rini. Oh god... I had barely had time to call the others, what if they didn't get the communique... or something went wrong with the transmission... so many possibilties that could result in Rini's injry, kidnapping or worse...  
"Oh god no." I whispered aloud. I sent a silent prayer up that the  
scouts HAD gotten my communique... and everything was all right.   
And as if in answer to my prayer, I heard a faint echo.   
"SERENA!" Though no one else was here with me in this whiteness,   
I thought *maybe*, just maybe, I could get out of wherever "here" was.   
If someone heard me. I could only hope. The white started to fade and  
swallow up the small shadows and space around me. I feared for my life,   
thinking this was the end, and I would be responsible for whatever happened to Rini. How could I have been so careless?   
But then I saw a flash of gold, and I collapsed on the ground.   
Smooth, wet grass... and the immense pain spread throughout my body.   
What had happened to me? I tried to right myself, and through blurry   
eyes, I cold make out the old form of the droid, and Sailor Moon.  
I activated my visor to clear my vision. It always worked. The   
enhanced vision I got when wearing the visor was like that of Supergirl's, and I could see everything.   
I saw two living forms fighting... the uglier, NON-HUMAN one  
being the strange camera-shifting droid, who, for some reason, hadn't  
yet used that attack on Sailor Moon yet, and the shorter, HUMAN one being Sailor Moon, pinned to a tree. I blinked to clear something from my eye, and nearly choked on my silent breath.   
My scanner beeped quietly in my ear, and showed TWO life forms... two HUMAN lifeforms, and one ugly droid.  
'Dear god...' I thought to myself. How... how was it humanly  
possible?!   
'Stupid!' I chided myself. Of COURSE it was humanly possible...  
but Serena?  
'She's... She's...' My mind continued to stutter illogically.   
'Who...?' But truth be told, there was no time to speculate.   
Rini was behind some shrubs too close to the droid for comfort, and  
Sailor Moon... and the child she carried... were in grave danger.   
"Three lifeforms..." I couldn't help but whisper. And one of  
those three was a droid. The other was Sailor Moon. And I hadn't  
scanned Rini... the scanning area I had focused on was the four  
by five by six foot box containing Sailor Moon, the droid, and the  
tree. And the tree didn't radiate heat!  
I let that irrational part of my mind take the controls,   
and I heard a loud scream. My own.   
"SAILOR MOON!" I was terrified that something would happen  
to my best friend, the leader of our team... and the child she  
carried... somehow. In the deepest, darkest parts of my mind, the  
part that was still focused on this hunk of information, I   
wondered if Serena knew. And if she did, did she know who the  
father was? I knew who the most LOGICAL candidate was...  
'SHUT UP AND FIGHT!' The other part of me yelled. The  
droid turned and faced me, and wore that expression it had showed  
just before it had transformed into the hideous demon-creature.   
Sailor Moon struggled and kneed the creature. It keeled over, for  
Sailor Moon had obviously weakened it before this, and once I had  
been released from whatever prison it had put me in, it had  
weakened even more, and hadn't had the chance to drain Sailor Moon,   
thankfully.   
"SHINE...AQUA ILLUSION!" I called, forming the sheets of ice in  
my hand. I shot it towards the droid, crumpled on the ground. Sailor Moon  
gave me an affirmative nod and dusted the droid with her scepter. The  
hideous demon vanished with a burst of sparkles.   
I stared from where the droid had been to Sailor Moon, just in   
time to see her eyes roll back in her head, and see her collapse  
to the ground in a dead faint.   
My eyes went blank as I registered everything at a painfully slow  
speed. The amount of energy she spent had tripled... to sustain her  
transformation and attacks, to keep her conscious and alive, and to  
protect and keep alive her child.   
"Mercury, what happened? Are you all right?" Jupiter yelled,   
just arriving. I turned to Jupiter, and saw with surprise that she  
was in worse shape than either of us. With the exception that she  
was conscious, and Sailor Moon was not.   
"Yeah, everything's fine." I found myself saying.   
"Is she okay?" Venus asked. I didn't tell them how  
Sailor Moon had been so completely drained, that because she was  
supporting another life inside of her, every time she transformed,   
attacked and was attacked, it drained her immensely.  
"She'll be soon. Let's get her to some place warm." I said,  
noting the cool breeze blowing through the park.   
"Ungh..." Mars limped onto the scene, prompting me to ask  
what, exactly, had happened.   
"We got attacked by another droid on the way here; that's why  
we're late. Both mine and Venus' arms got beaten, and Mars here is   
on a sprained ankle." Jupiter informed me.   
"Oh dear, how are we supposed to get her anywhere?" I asked,   
motioning to our leader. The other girls shook their heads in response, not   
knowing what to do.   
"I'll help." A distinctly male voice announced. We all turned in surprise,  
and were faced with Tuxedo Mask. He immediately went over to Sailor Moon,   
and picked her up.   
'He wouldn't know... if it even is HIS child... Don't let him notice...'  
I prayed. Jupiter and Venus tried to help, but their arms were too   
sore to keep lifting. As Mars couldn't walk very well in the first place,  
I had to help her as I led the way to Serena's apartment.   
We all detransformed, leaving only Tuxedo Mask and Sailor  
Moon transformed. We hurriedly rushed the tall man holding   
his beloved into the lobby of the apartment complex that was Serena's  
home, hoping we would go unseen.   
When they finally reached the elevator at the end of the hall,   
Tuxedo Mask broke the silence.   
"Why are we here?"   
"We're bringing Serena home, of course." Raye responded simply.  
'Raye just doesn't get it. I swear, sometimes she can be as stubborn  
and thick headed as the Ram that is her astrological guardian.' But  
of course, I kept these thoughts to myself. Though I had known Raye  
for a long time, and she was one of my best friends, she had her share  
of vices... bad characteristics, if you will. And sometimes... well,   
that's another story.   
Then she flushed scarlet, remembering that Darien didn't know she  
had moved. So she DOES know... it took her all of thirty seconds to  
realize, while the rest of us sweatdropped.   
But Darien didn't say anything, he only looked puzzled.   
And for someone who was so stoic, it was a sight to see. Off topic  
again, the only expressions you usually see on him are 1) Anger (if looks  
could kill) 2) sappiness (before the break-up) and 3) Blank. Or stoicness.   
The guy has no expression whatsoever and looks like a blank chalkboard.   
And to see him actually LOOK puzzled... well, it was funny. But like  
Darien, I know how to control my emotions... I didn't giggle a peep.   
When the elevator chimed to say it had reached the floor Serena   
lived on, we rushed out.   
We reached a door marked 'Serena Tsukino-630' and stopped.   
Raye reached under a carpet that said 'Welcome' and pulled out a   
key. After manipulating the lock for a few minutes, she got it to open,  
and stumbled onto the white leather recliner Serena had in the main  
room. The other girls followed suit, with Mina and Lita going to   
the bathroom to tend to their arm wounds.   
Tuxedo Mask took off his mask and hat, and lay Sailor Moon  
on the black leather couch beside the recliner. I started to  
scan her, hoping Darien didn't notice anything...  
I looked up midway through my scan, noting an almost bemused  
look on Darien's face as he observed his surroundings. He seemed surprised  
that Serena had her own place... though, all of us girls had felt the  
same way when Serena had told us, so I don't blame him in the slightest.   
"Serena lets us stay here sometimes, because she's got two  
guest bedrooms, and the recliner and the couch fold out." I   
explained, seeing his inquiring glance.   
However, how in the name of Mercury she afforded this condo-like  
residence was beyond me.  
"I think we better stay here tonight." Raye said from the   
recliner. I agreed wordlessly, and the other two girls emerging  
from the bathroom voiced their opinions.   
"Yeah, she might get drained again or something, so we should  
keep watch."   
"Everyone's room?" Mina asked. Mina and I each had our own   
room, while Rei preferred to sleep on the folding recliner by the   
fireplace and Lita on the long couch-bed.   
"Yeah." I wanted to stay out in the living room, make sure  
that no one disturbed or found out about Serena's obviously private  
secret. ESPECIALLY DARIEN. But it would be more private in   
her bedroom... and it would free up Lita's sleeping space...  
"Uh, Darien, why don't you help carry Serena into her bedroom,   
and I'll stay in there, make sure she's okay. You can have my room."   
"All right." Darien gently hoisted Serena into his arms, the   
girl sleeping so softly and peacefully, one might think she was  
having a pleasant dream... or at least I did.   
Darien placed Serena gently on the bed, and remained holding her.   
As observant as I am, the only thing I truly knew was that he still  
held emotions back, meant only for her. He shook his head, as if  
to clear such emotions, turned on his heel and left.  
'He *does* still love her...' I thought, unfolding the spare  
futon Serena kept in her closet. I picked up one of Serena's books  
on parenting, and settled down into the futon-chair to read.   
*********************************************************************  
"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Serena awoke with a start,   
screaming. I was immediately jolted out of my sleep, and the   
book I had read and placed on my lap tumbled to the floor under the bed.   
"What? What? Serena, are you all right?" Serena's face was   
ashen, her eyes dark and hazy. She was still panting heavily,   
and was covered in a light sheen of sweat. She had obviously had had  
a bad dream about something.  
"Amy? Serena? We heard screaming, what...?" Lita and Mina asked,   
pushing the door open. I glanced over to them, trying to keep  
myface from looking too haggard. I had been disturbed from my already  
light sleep...  
"SERENA!" Raye yelled, pouncing over them into the room and  
to the bedside. Raye is the most overprotective of all us scouts.   
When something's wrong with Serena, she is the first one on the scene,   
and if anyone hurts her, ANYTHING is possible. She could probably  
wrestle a polar bear if it came to that. But back to what had happened...  
"Serena?" Darien was there as well, looking rather pale himself,   
but not as haggard as everyone else. I personally wondered if he too, had   
had a bad dream, and been staying awake. He looked somewhat frightened  
though, so if he had been thinking, it had been very seriously.   
About what though?   
Panting, Serena glanced towards the door, and that was when he  
saw how frightened she looked.   
Raye, Mina and Lita, in the corner of the room closest to the door,  
turned abruptly when a *CRACK* sounded. I also turned, half thinking  
that a droid had followed us back...   
Serena also turned, as she was wiping the sheen of liquid from her  
brow. She looked so upset... and if she did KNOW, then whatever had been  
in her dream must have increased her fear tenfold. It was only right to  
help, her, to support her, as her friend.   
Her face went ashen again, when she saw *their* picture...  
cracked. What in the world could have cracked the frame like that?   
"Darien..." Serena breathed. Darien heard this, and followed  
her glance to the picture. I wondered about the glance he gave her,   
and the broken frame, as if there were some secret they shared.   
"Oh Darien!" Serena cried, tossing the picture onto the table   
and reaching for him. He hugged her delicately, not knowing her swollen  
stomach was pressed against him. I, however, did notice, and lightly  
tapped on her back.   
"Ssh, Serena, it's okay..." Darien was whispering, holding and   
rocking her like a small child. That overprotectiveness I always  
noticed in his eyes during a battle. That same look I had seen the  
first time I had met him -as Tuxedo Mask. Yes, even then, I knew  
that *somehow* they were connected, in ways I could never comprehend.   
"Serena." I stated quietly, my eyes shifting to the books on  
the endtable, which went unnoticed by everyone else, and Serena's own  
stomach.   
"Let's go back to sleep guys, we all have a meeting to attend  
tomorrow." I covered. The other three girls nodded in agreement, and,  
yawning, retired to their beds. Only Darien remained.   
"Darien, if you don't mind, I think we'd both like to get   
some sleep." I stated, trying to add some atittude to my voice. I wasn't too sure of  
anything, but if Serena was pregnant, as my computer had said,   
then he was the only logical... and possible... father. My thoughts from  
earlier resurfaced. If Serena had truly given herself to him in such a  
manner, why had he broken up with her, and now, been the same overprotective  
lover I had always known him to be? Clearly, he did not fit the stereotype  
of "the guy who runs away after".   
"Serena, what happened?" Darien asked, completely ignoring  
me. Though I was rather miffed that he had ignored me, I knew he couldn't help  
it; he wanted to know what she saw that made her so frightened and then cause  
her to push away.   
Looking at him briefly, Serena gave him a shifted glance and then  
flopped back into her bed completely.   
"Nothing, just... just go to sleep." Serena turned on her side and  
feigned sleep until he left.   
***********************************************************************  
"Serena." I stated quietly when a good fifteen minutes had   
passed. Serena made no move, but did speak.   
"How did you know?"   
"I...I scanned you with my computer when I 'woke up'. I...I   
read three lifeforms, and scanned my way from there."   
"And?"   
"Serena." I understood that Serena didn't want to say it, didn't  
want to admit it... so I would have to. I coughed to clear my throat,   
cast a glance towards the closed door, and spoke clearly.   
"And you are three months pregnant with a heathy baby." I   
stated, careful that my words were quiet.   
But unfortunately, not quiet enough.   
***********************************************************************  
I heard a loud crash, the breaking of glass, I assumed.   
Immediately suspicious, I opened the door and stood there, watching  
the scene and explanation unfold.   
Shards of a shattered glass were on the floor, and Raye was  
lying amongst it. My worst fears surged forth, and I wondered if  
Raye had, indeed heard. Lita woke up, as she had been in the  
living room, and was thusly closer to Raye, and ran over to the  
fallen girl, who began to stir. Though I felt horribly guilty for  
not being the one to run to her; I'm her friend too, you know, I  
watched with conviction. What did Raye know, if anything?   
"Umnngh..." Raye stirred as Lita hoisted her off the dangerous  
ground. Mina, along with Darien, had also woken up and come outside,   
and was now helping sweep up the broken shards.   
"Raye, are you okay?" Mina asked, concerned. Raye sat up, and  
managed a weak smile.   
"Yeah... um, butterfingers?" For some reason, that didn't strike  
me as truth. But what reason had I to doubt Raye? As a friend of Serena,   
didn't she have just as much right to know?   
But then again, Darien, of all people, the most and only logical   
canidate for the role of the father in my mind, deserved the right to  
know just as much, and I felt no reason to tell him. Why was it  
that I wanted to honor Serena's wish for Darien not to know, but  
not the other girls?   
"You-You fainted!" Lita persisted. Raye paled significantly,   
especially when she saw me looking at her suspiciously. I had  
never been *suspicious* of anyone in my life, but right now, the  
idea of betraying my best friend for another best friend confused  
me, and the only thing was, I had known Serena for longer. That was  
what kept me, stilled in the doorway.   
"Yeah um... I was feeling dizzy, and wanted a drink of water,   
but I fainted before I could get it. Butterfingers." Raye managed  
yet again. I only nodded and went back into the bedroom, heedless of  
what the others thought.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I closed my eyes and pressed my hands and back against the wall,   
sighing. When I opened my eyes, tiredly, wishing to get rid of all  
this confusion racking my brain, Serena was staring at me with those  
sad, puppy-like eyes of hers.   
"What if they know?" Serena whispered, trying to stay quiet.  
Though if Raye truly had heard, and I was usually the quiet, meek one,   
I doubted Serena would have any more luck staying quiet than I would.   
I averted her eyes from Serena and spoke quietly. It was my fault,   
that Raye had heard... I mustn't think like that... IF she heard.   
"Then there is nothing we can do. Serena, you're at the end  
of your first trimester. You're lucky no one noticed when they  
saw you, at school, or at the attack. You're obviously pregnant,  
and you're only going to... to get... well, no offense, but fatter.   
And if the others DO know, you'll have to give them a more decent  
explanation than you gave me." I knew the other girls wouldn't believe  
the story Serena had told me. But ever since I had become a scout, all  
those ideals of mine about everything having a scientific, logical   
cause and effect flew out the window.   
Serena was three months pregnant, about, and her stomach was  
a slight bulge. For maybe the next four or five weeks, she could  
get away with wearing her uniform at school, and having no one notice.   
But as for other things... her usually skin-tight, rather, um...  
showy clothes, leggings... no way. Serena would have to get maternity  
wear and fast. Not that it would be a problem... I mean, considering she  
had an apartment, and supposedly a job to pay for it too...  
"How can I be more 'decent'? Amy, I don't even know whose child  
I am carrying!" Serena hissed. I rolled my eyes, and found them wanting  
to remain shut. I just wanted to sleep...  
"Whose do you think?" I asked in response, somewhat sarcastically.   
Truth be told, there was only ONE possibilty... She turned her eyes   
away.   
"That's what I thought. He IS the only logical possibility, but  
from what you told me last night, you and Darien never..."   
"We never made love to each other. I don't know... Amy, what  
if I was raped or something?" I had thought of that possibility before,   
but I hardly thought Serena would have been the same if such an incident  
had occured. I had met several rape victims before and after, and they  
had changed completely, There was no doubt Serena would have as well.  
"Serena, you don't think..." I couldn't help asking. Did she  
seriously think that DARIEN raped her? But then, why wouldn't she   
remember?  
"No, I'm not saying HE did it... I'm saying..." So she thought  
someone ELSE raped her. But it made no sense in my mind. Amy's  
calculations say... 'Tell her to see a doctor. She calls in the   
morning, you all get some sleep.' DING! I think I'll tell her that.   
"There's only one way to find out, you know. Take a test at   
the doctor's."   
"Fine. THEN, and only then, will I tell the girls. Otherwise,   
we have to cover it up from them as best we can. Promise, Amy."   
"I promise." I had no idea why I was doing this. Or why *I*  
had to be the one to not say anything. It's not like I'm a gossip,  
but I have a feeling that the girls won't be too happy with the fact  
that I kept secret something having to do with their best friend's  
health and welfare.   
"Thank you. You know, this means HIM, too. ESPECIALLY HIM."   
"I understand. But if something happens, and they FIND OUT,   
on their own, you're going to have to explain it." Which meant,   
in other words, if Raye truly did know, I would not be to blame.  
"I want to explain it before then." Saying so, Serena picked  
up the phone off the cradle and dialed a number. A receptionist  
at Dr. Cunningham's office picked up.   
"I'd like to make an appointment, please."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was about seven hours later, and I felt incredibly well-rested  
(I usually get five hours after rigorous studying! And you wonder why  
I still ace exams? Thank Nestea Iced Tea!) considering all the events  
that had occured yesterday. Demon-droid, Rini (who, by the way, had   
gone home on her own yesterday) and the shocking news. Not to mention  
that Raye might know, and would no doubt tell the others. That was what  
I was worried about, too worried to even tell Serena. Would Raye have  
told Darien?   
I prayed to whatever Almighty had already saved us from death  
countless times, be it Buddha, Christ, God, a Kami-sama, or Serene  
herself. I prayed that Raye would NOT tell Darien.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serena had made her appointment for noon, on the button, and it  
was my job to make sure that everyone else was gone (and didn't ask   
questions) or wouldn't notice Serena gone for the time inbetween.   
Serena was getting ready at around 10:30, and wore baggy jeans and   
a sweater, typical clothes of what I thought teen mothers would be.   
Always trying to hide it, that is.   
In any case, she was drinking some cherry tea to wake her up,   
and that was when the parade of girls came out from Mina's room.   
It was then I pieced together that they must have been talking  
together. Which meant Raye KNEW. I was in for one heck of a day,   
keeping them away from Serena until she left, making her they  
didn't notice or care when and why she left, and forcing them to  
leave before she came back. Oh yes, I would have a field day with them.  
Serena didn't say anything to the girls as she finished the   
tea, cleaned the cup, and prompty walked out of the kitchen. I watched  
amused, as they followed her every movement with their eyes and heads,   
never moving from the huddled, big-t-shirt clad group they were. They  
watched as she grabbed a health bar from a hanging basket, put on  
her denim jacket and keys and left without so much as a word or  
glance to any of us.   
"So Amy... where's she going?" Lita finally asked. I turned around  
and crossed my fingers, praying that I wouldn't make the biggest mistake  
of my life.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The morning passed relatively quickly, as Darien had come out of  
his room early, but still too late to see Serena. I'm sure he was   
wondering about her and her behavior from the night before, as he looked  
around the room and seemed somewhat sad and rather pale. Truly, I   
wondered how much sleep he had gotten, and if not as much as he should,   
why?   
But for the moment, I thanked him for his presence, as it was the  
only thing keeping the other girls from bombarding me with questions.   
Apparently, we all thought along the same wavelength: Darien was  
the only logical canidate for the role of the father, and he didn't  
seem to know anything about it: better to keep their mouths shut. Good.   
All for the better. When he first came out ofthe room he had stayed in,   
he was looking about tiredly. Then, we all watched as he glanced about  
sadly, looking for the girl who was not there.   
And then, the girls followed his movements with eyes of suspicion.   
I must admit, it was very funny... watching them rotate like a clock  
together. That is, until Mina's arm hit someone else's elbow,   
interlocked, caused the two joined girls to turn in opposite directions  
and fall helplessly to the ground.   
I stifled laughter at the site and willed myself to get through   
the rest of the morning.   
'And don't HINT at anything!' I remembered Serena hissing to  
me in the early morning when she woke up and had a breakfast made for  
two. Obviously. I would never lie to the girls, but if they asked, and  
I didn't say anything, or gesture, then all would be well. Thankfully,  
Darien's presence made sure the girls didn't peep a word. Which meant,   
in order for things to keep on going as they were, the girls would have  
to be gone before him. And then the only obstacle would be preventing  
HIM from asking questions.   
By 11:00 everyone was all ready to leave. Serena wouldn't be back  
till around 1:30, as her appointment was at noon and expected to be  
around an hour. I was amazed Serena had left as earlier as she had,   
when she had originally planned on leaving at 11:00. Perhaps she  
just wanted to avoid anything that the girls might ask. The girls  
or Darien. Lately, Serena had a lot of self-control, but Darien   
is -and always has been- the one who breaks that self-control. She   
completely loses herself around him. And for the longest time, I was  
sure I was the only one who noticed.   
The girls were down the hall and walking slowly to the elevator.   
Darien was the last one out the door, and just before he closed it,   
he turned to me.   
I would have gasped, but air would not find its way down my  
throat. He truly had not slept for a long time. Bags and redness  
under and in his eyes was clearly visible. He was haggard and pale,  
and almost unkempt. His hair wasn't slick, but oily, and his eyes  
were a dulled shade of midnight that Serena so fondly waxed about...  
in the old days. And if you looked close enough, you could see the faint   
signs of facial hair growing.   
"Give my regards to Sere-Serena, would you, Amy?" He asked me.   
I doubted that he wanted me to give her REGARDS. He wanted to be there  
when she got home, he wanted to say something very important to her,   
and the pain and pleading in his eyes told me it wouldn't hurt her.   
The girls, I noticed, leaning out of the door, were already  
out of earshot, down the halls a ways and waiting for the elevator  
to come up. They were talking quietly amongst themselves, and again,   
that fear in me awoke, that they might KNOW.   
I looked to Darien, who was desperately awaiting an answer.   
"I'll do that." I smiled truthfully. Just as I closed the   
door, I breathed a silent 'Congratulations' to the father-to-be.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serena came home exactly when I suspected she would: around  
1:30. She seemed to be surprised that I was the only one in the  
house, and let me tell you, it took a lot of work to convince the  
girls that Serena would want peace and quiet when she got back   
from where she was (which I never named), and I had to stay   
because Serena needed to be safe... you know, *someone* had  
to make sure she didn't pass out again. Thankfully no one   
brought up the topic of why no one had escorted her to wherever  
she was going, if someone needed to make sure she didn't pass   
out again.   
As that thought entered my head, I wondered why I didn't go.   
If both Serena and I were gone, the girls wouldn't have any answers,   
unless... Darien. No, having Darien and the curious three alone  
in a big apartment was not a good thing. Walking home with   
Serena and then seeing the apartment turned into a police interrogation  
lab was not something I would have wanted to see.   
In any case, Serena looked downright tired, and she mumbled  
a sleepy 'hello' to me before stumbling out of her jacket and shoes  
and collapsing on the bed. She set the alarm for 4:40 and fell sound  
asleep. As I had spent my morning without espresso (my usual) or  
any breakfast, and trying to keep the girls from interrogating Darien  
or me, well... I was tired too. I settled into the couch in the living room and slipped into a comfortable sleep.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I heard a loud beeping, you know, the annoying one that  
REALLY gets you awake. I stumbled sleepily to Serena's room, and found  
her awake. Unlike most days I remember, she was alert, not yawning much, or   
whining about "five more minutes". But then again, she had changed   
greatly.   
We rubbed our eyes and walked slowly to the kitchen. Serena   
brought out two cans of Cola and we sipped at them slowly.   
"I had another dream." Serena said, not even looking at me.   
I personally wondered how she felt, carrying a child within her.   
I'm sure she knew that Darien was the only possible canidate for   
the father; not even I would accept the possibility that Serena  
could have been raped.   
Did she want this child? The idea of Serena as a mother seemed  
too perfect; she was so friendly, caring, and from the experience I  
had seen her with Rini... well, I had known for a long while  
that Serena would make a good mother. Take the time she babysat  
Jordan! Darien and her made the perfect couple, and the perfect   
parents! And thanks to them, Jordan learned to WALK and TALK!  
This raised another question. Even if Serena did want the  
child, how would she take care of it? Did she have a job? Did  
her parents know? And would she care whether Darien knew? Whether  
he was the father or not, didn't he *deserve* to know? If he  
was the father... would he support her?   
"About what?" I asked just as quietly, trying to calm the  
raging storm of questions in my head.   
"Endymion. Serenity. Them, Us. Whoever they are, were or  
have been. They did..." She trailed off, and I caught wind of  
what she was saying.   
"They?" I trailed off. Serena looked up, tears sparkling  
in her eyes for an inexplicable reason.   
She nodded, and I started to think.   
Why would Serena have dreams, why now? And how was Serena pregnant,   
if she and Darien had never made love, and it was almost an   
impossibility that she had been raped?   
The only thing that came to mind was the crystal. Only something  
so mysterious and linked so deeply to Serena would be behind this. And  
the crystal made me think... it had saved us countless times from  
complete destruction... but used at its full power, it always killed  
its user. Was it possible... that Serenity, the *princess* had known  
about this pregnancy, hundreds of years ago, and, having a small portion  
of power linked to the crystal... was it possible that a child from THAT  
era was reborn? In Serena? NOW? I didn't know enough about Serenity,   
the Silver Millenium, or even Serena to possibly speculate on such   
a thing, so I pushed the thought back from whence it came.   
The phone rang. Serena looked at it for a brief second, as if  
it might bite her.   
"That'd be Dr. Cunningham..." Then she picked it up.   
"Hello?" I was sure that was trepidation falling from her voice.   
A pause.   
"Hi... um..."   
Serena looked strained for a second. The doctor must be blabbing.   
I guess they have a tendency to do that.   
Serena's face shattered into a happy, relieved smile, and  
my heart rate slowed down to a healthy speed. All was well, and I knew  
it even before Serena said so.   
"Thank you, Dr. Cunningham."   
Another pause.   
"Thanks." Serena looked at the phone for a minute before  
setting it back on its cradle. She stared at me as if she hadn't  
a soul, like a fallen angel would when it was told it could have its  
wings back, after an eternity. You see how poetic I get when tension  
is in the air, when we girls go through yet ANOTHER weird situation?   
"It's him?" I asked calmly. Serena looked at me, and saw  
how I was nonchalant. She nodded and then let the tears fall.   
'I knew it.' I thought to myself.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Weren't you going to tell everyone anyways?" I asked  
after Serena had had a long, happy cry on my shoulders. It seemed   
reasonable to assume that she would tell everyone else, now that I had found out. Otherwise, there would be heavy tension, and a sure fight   
between her and Raye.   
"Yes... just before the attack, I had planned to tell everyone,   
but now..." Why would she change her mind?   
"Now?" I prodded.   
"Now, I know why I wanted to keep it a secret for as long as I   
had... about two hours, maybe." Serena smiled. An exaggeration,   
to say the least, seeing as it had been afternoon YESTERDAY when I  
found out. And Serena HAD known for at least a month... she had  
apparently told her parents, gotten an apartment and maybe even   
a job on her own...   
"I didn't want everyone thinking I had to be taken care of.   
It was bad enough when you all found out I was the princess. Everyone  
risked themselves for me, or treated me as less than a scout, and   
more like a burden." I could hardly believe the words forming and  
coming out of her mouth. Never had I thought she was a burden!  
"We never thought you were a burden!" I cried, shocked.   
"I know that now... it's just like you were all my friends  
BEFORE we became scouts, and then becoming scouts was just another   
thing we had in common, linking us to each other. But still... I   
never wanted you guys to put your dreams on hold for me, to feel   
you had an obligation to me."   
"I know we don't. But the point is, without you, we'd all  
be alone. So the most natural thing for us to do is to stick by  
you, as your friends, your guardians, and your sisters."   
"Thank you." Serena whispered quietly.   
"Not just me you know. If they really do know, you better  
tell them everything, before they end up asking DARIEN questions."   
"EEP. Good point. I'll call them over."   
In moments, Serena had called the whole gang over, and they  
were due to arrive back at her house in twenty minutes. But she  
knew just as well as I did, that if they even had a SMALL inkling  
of what was going on... they'd be here sooner.   
And we were right. We exchanged a familiar, knowing glance   
when the first bell rang in less than ten minutes.   
"Explanation." Mina stated.   
"Now." Lita added.  
"Long, Good, Complete." Raye ordered.   
"From the beginning?" Serena asked.  
"The very beginning." Lita nodded.   
"Welll..."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
And so the story began. I must say, it was long, and interesting.   
But, I shall not retell it (A.N: She shouldn't have to! That was all   
in Part 2c!!). But the thing is, at the end of it all, Serena had to  
explain the test results: that Darien was the father of the child she  
was carrying.   
For the first time, I saw Raye look utterly flabbergasted.   
"How?! How?!" Raye stuttered.   
"I think I can answer that." I said quietly. It was time for  
my theory to surface.   
"You can?!" Serena asked, astonished.   
"The Silver Imperium Crystal allowed us all to be reborn when  
we all died by the hand of Beryl over a thousand years ago, here,   
on present day Earth. And then again, when we all died in the attack   
against the Doom and Gloom Girls and Beryl in the present time. It's  
reasonable to assume that the power to rebirth us is in the Silver  
Crystal, and that power stems not from the crystal itself, but its   
user's heart." It was just a theory, but...   
Four pairs of eyes turned to Serena questioningly.   
"Every time you wished we could be reborn, to live again, your  
heart, the most powerful souce of energy, granted the wish. The Crystal  
only healed our bodies and minds so the wish would be complete."   
"And this connects to Serena... how?" Raye asked, motioning to  
Serena's swollen belly.   
"Serenity DID know about the child back in the Silver Millenium.   
According to the story Serena told me, Serenity told Endymion the very  
day everyone died. Serenity knew it was pointless to live without   
Endymion, and that was why she threw herself into the blast Beryl sent  
at them. But deep inside, she DID want the child to be reborn. That  
wish, the wish to bring a hardly formed life back into being, could  
only be granted with a tremendous amount of power, not just in Serena's  
heart, either. So when her power level was the same as back then, the  
child was 'reborn' INSIDE Serena."   
"Ooooohhhh..." Everyone chorused in understanding.   
"Do you really think that's the case?"   
"It's possible, logical... and... well, I can't think of any other  
way, scientifically." I blushed. In return for my response, I got  
two pairs of rolled eyes and two lopsided smirks.   
"I don't know." Serena whispered.   
"Serena?" Mina asked.   
"I'm just not sure of anything. Should I tell him... I mean,   
he has a right to know..."   
"He'll probably feel obligated to take care of you, just like  
you DON'T want." I pointed out. I knew that was what Serena was  
feeling, and at the point in time when no one was REALLY sure of  
what was going on with Darien, no one wanted to take a chance.   
"Yeah, and remember, what kind of a father would he be, leaving   
his unborn child and girlfriend before he even knows about the kid?"   
Lita reminded her. At this, Serena was reminded of the dream she had  
had the other night... the way he had held her and looked at her.   
Serena seemed to have made up her mind. She nodded, and I noted  
that small twinkling in her eye again. She doubted herself, and I knew  
deep inside, that she still loved him. She would be drawn to him, and  
nothing could keep them apart for long. They WOULD find a way back   
to each other... somehow.   
She nodded firmly anyways, and that was the end of that.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
In the months that followed, we had one hell of a time preventing  
Darien from seeing Serena.   
To begin with, Serena told us about her job at the arcade, and  
told Andrew the next day. When she came back to her place, we were  
all done doing our work for the day- which I will explain in a second.   
She seemed kind of upset. When we all asked her why, she said that  
she had told Andrew, and she had told him -without any of us there-  
she didn't want Darien to know. And it hurt her.   
We asked if she washaving second thoughts, did she want him  
to know? We shouldn't get in the way of doing something she wants  
to do.   
But no, Serena told us quietly. She would keep it a secret from  
him, and so would Andrew.   
As Lita and I went to the same school as Serena, we would  
undoubtedly see Darien more.   
And we did. Not just on our way to and from school, but at  
the arcade, the mall... it was amazing how Darien never seemed  
to be in the arcade when Serena was working. Perhaps it was something  
she had arranged with Andrew.   
In any case. I forgot to explain the jobs that we had been doing  
that day Serena came back from telling Andrew. It was my job to get  
Serena hooked up at the hospital. I talked to her OB/GYN, a very nice  
woman named Dr. Laura Cunningham, who had been a teen mother herself.   
She cared deeply for Serena, as her case was rather close to what  
had happened to her. The only exception being that she hadn't had a   
child because of some crystal...  
Raye and Mina went shopping for the basics. Serena had  
given them all the cash from her last two paychecks, and they went  
out to buy everything Serena would need. They got home before anyone  
else, and decided to start converting my bedroom into a nursery. I   
didn't mind in the slightest; Serena's recliner was like a bed to  
me already, seeing as at my own house, I often fell asleep in the  
chairs.   
Lita dealt with Serena's schooling. Her parents had already  
ben told about her pregnancy, and dealt with release forms. Serena  
was still their daughter, but her address had been changed to her  
own, and she was her own legal guardian.   
Serena attended night school and nursing school for a short time,   
but as both Dr. Cunningham and I pointed out, she wouldn't be able to   
risk in during her second trimester. Which meant after she was six   
months pregnant, she would not be able to attend school, only do the   
work.   
Lita agreed to pick up the work every day, I agreed to tutor her,   
as well as make routine checks on her. I wanted to make sure she was  
healthy and mentally stable.   
And that was that.   
Months passed, and Darien, try as he might, would get no closer  
to Serena. It was strange, though. He knew where she lived, and  
he never tried to see her himself. It was not as if any of the  
other girls or I stayed there overnight to "fend" him off.   
Perhaps he too, had some inkling. It was more than possible.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The rainy season was coming, and Lita and I had arranged it with  
the teachers so that she only had to turn in work at the end of the  
week. This way, Serena had a whole week to do any work, and the rest   
of the days to work (as she could no longer work at the arcade, she  
tested new recipies and fixed some old gaming machines. She was a   
wonder with those old games, and I saw a side to her I had never thought  
was there before- the mechanical side.) at home.   
I only stopped by her house at the end of the week, to save us  
both hassle and time. So when the event that changed the course of  
the baby's life ocurred, I was out of the loop, not present... unawares.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
End of Substory 1, Amy  
"Stop reading fanfics and STUDY!"   
-Just a little sidenote from Amy.  
  
Many thanks to everyone who mailed me about this. Hope it  
keeps meeting your standards, and I hope to keep hearing from you.   
*Azurite*   
  
  



	8. Part 5: Believe

Title: Only 16  
Part: 5  
AAAAAHHH! Who's excited??! YOU ARE!  
By: Azurite  
Email: azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
WWW: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida (REVAMPED)  
AIM: Meriellen5  
YIM: sailor_andromida/azurite_moon  
***************************************************  
DC: (Does it stand for Darien Chiba... or mayhap...  
DISCLAIMER! MUAHAHA!) Sailormoon and Co. aren't mine.   
And Dr. Laura Cunningham is a name I made up.   
So'longs as you don't trash her, feel free to use  
her. I don't care.   
A/N: (Another Natsumi? Or... Author's Notes! I wonder...)   
It's Part 5! At first, I was planning to do a bunch of  
substories, but then that'd be boring, you know, wondering  
what happened after the whole hospital incident. Like, why  
repeat the same segment over and over, just from someone  
else's POV? It still doesn't clue you in on what happens  
NEXT! Okay, so every other part will be a substory.   
Amy's has already been done, and next will be...  
-Raye  
-Lita  
-Mina  
-Serena  
-Darien  
-*Andrew  
-*Dr. Laura Cunningham  
*= MAYBE I'm not sure yet.   
Oh yeah, I borrowed a line from Lilac Summers' "First Truths".   
  
RC: (Rei-chan? Raye's cool? Raye cried? Or how about (and you'll   
all love me for this) RECAP!!! MUAHAHHA *choke*)   
"You can stay with me. I won't let anything happen to you or the baby,  
Serena, you know that." The words flew out of his mouth before  
anything else could be said. Then silence reigned, and all was quiet.  
Serena turned to Darien, her eyes wide and sparkling with that   
old, familiar joy they had lost so long ago.   
"You'd really do that for me... for us?"   
"Serena..." Darien breathed, leaning in closer to her. His arms  
encircled her frail body and pulled her closer to him.   
"I'd do anything for you... and..." Darien blinked back tears,   
that had appeared unheeded, "Our child." Serena fought back the urge to  
laugh and cry at the same time, and hugged Darien back tightly.   
"Oh Darien!" Laura left the twosome alone in the room like that,   
and when Lita looked in later, after being too curious at to know what  
was going on, she found them sound asleep in each other's arms.   
***********************************************************************  
Several Days Later   
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Darien asked her for the  
umpteenth time that day. Serena gave him an exasperated nod   
and pointed to another cardboard box. Darien took two simple  
strides over to the box, hoisted it up and placed it on a cart.   
He stood up again and looked at Serena.   
"What?" She asked, avoiding his intense gaze.   
He walked over to her slowly, and surveyed her body with his eyes.   
"Serena...god, I love you." Serena blinked and looked up,   
believing with her whole heart that this was a dream.   
She reached up for his face, cupping his smooth skin in her  
palms, and caressing it as only a mother-to-be could. She   
stared into theose bottomless pools of midnight blue, that   
shone with emotion as they never had before. His arms wrapped  
themselves around her swollen frame, and Serena rested her head  
on the crook of his neck. He breathed into her hair, softly,   
slowly, inhaling the sweet scent of passion fruit blossom shampoo.   
"Serena, I don't understand it... but you do things to me  
that no other girl has... I think... I think I've always been in  
love with you, since that first day when you lobbed me over the head  
with that test paper."   
'Does... does he mean it?'   
"And... I don't understand why... or how... this..." Darien  
looked over her swollen belly with his eyes and Serena drew back.   
"You still don't believe this child is yours?" Serena asked,   
terrified. Darien didn't know how to answer; the doctor had said it  
was his... Serena had said it was his... why... WHY couldn't he   
believe it?   
'Because you know if you had ever been with Serena, you wouldn't  
have forgotten that!' A nasty voice inside his head whispered.   
And it was true. Had he EVER made love to Serena, he wouldn't  
have forgotten... he never would have... forgotten such an act of   
love, of pure affection... so indescribable...   
Serena had pulled away from him and was staring at him with   
shimmering eyes, praying with all her might that for once, this  
might be a dream, a lie...  
Serena dropped the single shoebox of photos, which scattered  
about the carpeted floor of her apartment.   
"Leave." Serena stated monotonously.   
"Serena, I--"   
"LEAVE!" Serena repeated forcefully, yelling as the tears  
followed from her eyes unheeded. She walked two paces towards  
him and pushed him out the door, closing it behind him.   
He stood, just outside of her apartment, dumbfounded.   
He continued standing there, even after he heard Serena slump   
against the door and begin to cry. And he could do nothing   
about it whatsoever.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Serena! Serena, please let me in!" Darien begged from   
the other side of the door. Five minutes after he had been   
kicked out, her crying had ceased, he had started to bang  
his hand on the door, begging to be let in.   
"NO!" Serena cried from the other side, hoarsely.   
"Please Serena!" Darien cried out, slumping forward on   
his head against the door.   
"Please..." He whispered, broken.   
'Not until you apologize... and even then, I can't  
forgive you.' Serena thought. She rose from her slumped   
place, between the boxes in her living room, and collapsed  
tiredly on her bed in the only untouched room... the nursery.   
"Young man, is there something wrong?" Darien looked  
up miserably, knowing how horrid he must look... sweaty brow,   
matted hair, red, tear-streaked face... through his tears, he   
saw a short, kindly old woman, hunched over him with worry,  
just like the grandmother he never had.   
"I say, young man?" The woman repeated, kneeling over  
Darien and inspecting him.   
"I..."   
"Do you need to speak to Serena? She's a very nice  
girl, if you're polite, I believe she'll speak to you."   
"Serena... she *is* a very nice girl... but I don't  
think she'll let me in." Darien responded quietly.   
"Are you, by any chance, Darien?" Darien looked up in  
surprise and nodded slowly.   
"Hm. Serena has told me a bit about you, Darien. I'm   
Ms. Butterscotch, her landlord. I heard from her some time  
ago that she was moving in with you."   
"Was." Darien muttered, melancholy.   
"Hm. Seems you two had a fight."   
"Yes... I never meant to..."   
"Tsktsk. No one ever MEANS to, but they do anyways."   
Darien knew she was right. He knew what he was saying,   
why didn't he stop himself?  
"I only wish..." Darien whispered to the air.   
"That you hadn't made that mistake?" Ms. Butterscotch  
finished for Darien. He looked up sadly and tired, and nodded.   
"Come come. Serena is a very forgiving, kind young woman,  
and I'm sure if you two talked..."   
"She wouldn't want to talk to me, not after what I've said  
to her..."   
"Just what did you say, Darien?" Darien turned his face away  
in shame and felt lower than the smallest subatomic cell.   
"I..."   
"You can tell me Darien. I know you very well, from   
what Serena's told me, so profusely. And from your actions...  
and words in the past few minutes. My late husband said  
I had a way with people, seeing into their personalities  
and such."   
"You must have loved him very much."   
"Yes, but like every husband, he had his faults, and so did I...  
and we had our fights. Listen to me Darien, when I say NO ONE  
is perfect. She loves you for who you are, and you should  
love her for who she is, no matter WHOSE child she is carrying.  
Love... conquers all." Darien heard her deep, moving words, and  
saw how they meant something to him.   
He DID love Serena, long before he knew she was carrying a child,   
and even more when he thought it was his. And whose else would it  
be? How was it possible that Serena had given herself to another,   
when at every battle, she cried for HIM, that THEIR link to each  
other was still strong...   
'In the end, it's all me, and it's all you...' Darien remembered  
her saying from long ago.   
And in the end, it truly was.   
"Go in, Darien." Ms. Butterscotch produced a key from her   
skirt pocket and opened the door to Serena's apartment quietly.   
Darien nodded solemnly and gave a smile of silent  
thanks to the elderly woman. She smiled back in return, as if  
Darien were one of her own kin.   
He slipped inside the apartment and closed the door silently.   
Outside, Ms. Butterscotch smiled brilliantly. She looked  
up to the flickering ceiling light outside Serena's apartment.   
"I know Harry. They have belonged together for longer than  
I can comprehend. I was just... helping them along."   
The light stopped flickering.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Darien searched the mess of boxes, looking for his beloved  
desperately. He hoped she was all right, and it wasn't too late  
to mend the horrible error he had made.   
Serena, however, was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in  
her bedroom, the kitchen, the living room or dining room...   
or Mina's room.   
Darien knew there was only one last place she could be.   
Stepping over piles of boxes and rows of bubble wrap, Darien  
made his way to Amy's old room... the nursery.   
He opened the door fully, as it had been slightly ajar  
when he reached it. Inside, on the untouched bed and  
other collection of both nursery and Amy-ish things, lay  
Serena, sound asleep.   
Darien took three quick strides to her, and kneeled  
beside her, stroking her porcelain face gently.   
He brushed his aching lips against the softness of her  
cheek's skin, and saw her just barely stir, but not wake.   
"Serena, if words could express how *stupid* I am,   
I would never stop talking. I love you Serena, and I never  
meant... never EVER meant to hurt you."   
Darien closed his eyes as the emotions poured forth,   
and he noticed not when Serena, restless in his presence,  
awoke. Her barely opened eyes were slits, but she was  
all ears.   
"I was a fool to break up with you, over some  
stupid dream, a fool to believe that the child you  
carry is not mine... -ours. And it doesn't matter! I   
shouldn't -I don't- care. Because no matter what, I love  
you, and I love this child... and I will protect both of you,   
no matter what the cost. I just wish... I wish this wasn't  
so confusing, and I knew why... and I could make you  
happier. I always seem to bring tears to you, instead  
of smiles. Sere, I'm so sorry. I love you."   
"I love you too." Sereana whispered. Darien opened  
his eyes, and to both their astonishments, a trail of  
tears fell from his ocean-colored eyes.   
"S-Sere?" Sereana smiled and nodded, loving   
having him call her by her nickname once more. Tears  
fell from her eyes as well, and silence reigned.   
Darien found himself unable to respond to her  
presence, as ironic as it seemed at the moment.   
For minutes, they just stared at each other lovingly,   
tears in their eyes.   
A fierce, uncontrollable feeling rose in Darien  
and he embraced her tightly, caring not to let her go.   
And the world continued revolving around them, as  
they were together once more.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Several Days Later  
"I don't believe it." Darien groaned exasperatedly.   
"Daaarrriiieeen!!" Serena whined pitifully. She  
sauntered up to him, tugged gently at his collar as if  
begging for a kiss... and then stopped. Her pout broke  
out into the most beautiful smile Darien had even witenessed  
in his days, and he smiled upon her glowing figure appreciatively.  
"I still can't believe it." Darien said, looking away from  
her. Serena pouted again, and her eyes watered.   
"No, don't... don't do that. Sere, you know I hate it when  
you cry!"   
"You hate me?!" Serena sniffled behind cleverly disguised   
sobs.   
"No, no, that's not it at all!" Darien said, drawing her  
into his warm embrace once more.   
"So then what?" Serena asked innocently, brightening   
somewhat at his kind tone.   
"I just can't believe what a mess my clean place turned  
into." Darien groaned yet again, and looked down at her.   
Serena smiled, then flushed.   
"So, I have a lot of stuff... I mean, most of it's for  
the baby, anyways."   
"I know." Darien whispered softly. His face slowly neared  
hers, and the tiring day ended with a passionate kiss between  
the two lovers.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
End of Part 5  
So much for a cliffhanger. Maybe next time. Ja!   
  
  
  
  



	9. Substory#2: Raye

Title: Only 16   
Substory 2: Raye  
By: Azurite  
Rating: PG-PG13  
Email: azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/  
*****************************************  
Minna! Read Lois Fogg's "Fire"!! Must read!  
Sailor Moon and co. aren't mine, and if  
you are wondering where the devil part 6 is, well,   
I TOLD YOU SO!  
Does anyone know how to play Sailormoon: Another Story?   
Or for that matter, do that neat little fade-at-the  
edges trick with pictures? I'm so insanely jealous.   
Oh yeah, and to all those writers who brag about  
Tamahome being theirs: well, my goodness. I just  
saw him for the first time on Saturday, 2/26, and  
it was the LAST (I think) ep of Fushigi Yuugi.   
WOW!! HE IS FINE! Send some Suzaku Seven Tamahome my  
way! Oh yeah, and there are others... like Ginta  
from Marmalade Boy, Ranma from Ranma 1/2 (as a boy!),   
and that guy from the lesser known A Couple's Circumstance.   
Arima, I think his name is. But Mamo-chan, don't  
worry, we still "Ichiban Aishiteru!" (love you best)  
***********************************************************  
Oh yeah! Remember this is all from Raye's POV!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
No one can blame it on Serena. Sure, she's a clutz,   
a ditz, a slacker... and you could listen to me list   
her faults and berate her publicly until I'm withered  
and gray, but I won't. Despite her many problems,   
being a complete idiot wasn't one of them.   
Serena would NEVER succumb to a strange guy's  
charms, would NEVER give up on Darien as easily as  
a snap of your fingers, and would never freely give  
herself -physically- to someone other than Darien.   
That was why, that first day when I suspected  
something, that day at the temple when Serena was  
sick, I knew.   
Of course, I wasn't sure, and I certainly wasn't  
going to say "Hey, Serena, are you pregnant?" No way.   
Besides, that would have been... uh, uncharacteristic  
of me.   
What did I know then, pray tell? I guess I had  
that little inkling that always went off in my head,   
like an annoying car alarm. It started spouting off  
worries, doubts and insignificant fussings about  
anything and everything -trivialities. Amy could  
say she liked tuna, and I could suddenly think,   
gee, is she going to buy tuna at Juuban Grocery?   
What if it's poisoned? What if Amy gets sick  
and is in the hospital? What if...   
That's my worst trait, and I try not to   
let it show. The last thing I need to add to  
my image is "Raye, aka Sailor Mars, the tough,   
mean, loyal... worrywart."   
So, when Serena suddenly keeled over and  
stumbled to the bathroom to throw up... and  
mumbled something about not feeling well.... well,   
I kind of knew.   
Like I said, I didn't know for sure. But I   
wasn't likely to forget anytime soon.   
After the meeting was over, Serena, who   
still looked sick, gave me a half-hearted  
smile, probably for not bugging her about Scout duties the  
whole time. No droid attacks or Nega-energy was on the  
way, so we were hoping for a time of peace.   
"Serena?" The girl, whose skin was becoming  
a sickly shade of pasty gray, I noted, turned towards  
me, giving me a blithe smile. Here eyes looked red and  
baggy, as if she hadn't slept in days, and as her  
best friend, I worried.   
"Serena , I know you don't feel so hot, so please  
go see a doctor, okay?" I was sincere in my words, and  
would make sure the girl went if I had to escort her   
myself. Serena looked almost suprised, if she had  
the facial energy to make such an expression, and  
then nodded wordlessly. And like the other girls,   
she simply turned on her heel and left for home.   
When I finally saw Serena again, which was,   
amazingly, a whole week later, she looked  
somewhat dazed. I was worried that she hadn't gone  
to the doctor's after all, and her condition was  
worsening. She hadn't been to school in a while,   
or so Amy and Lita said, so they couldn't  
offer me any info either. Mina, however, told me  
that Serena had her doctor's appointment today, and  
like her, was increasingy worried. Why had she put  
it off for so long? Perhaps she had had another  
appointment earlier in the week? But what kind  
of condition would require two visits?   
Mina called Serena on the communicator, and  
at home, and discovered she wasn't there yet...  
her mom told us she must be going straight to the  
"study group" meeting right from her appointment.   
We were too afraid to ask, I suppose, so  
it wasn't until much, much later that we figured  
out that Serena had indeed had two appointments  
that week. And her condition? Well, it wasn't going  
to get better... and it couldn't really be called  
getting worse...  
She was late, as usual, but I didn't want to  
start berating her about her bad habits, not when  
she looked so ill. But I wasn't the first to mention  
her sickly appearance.   
"Serena! Hey girl, are you okay?" Mina managed  
a smile, and I privately wondered how she could not  
be worried and show it.   
Lita was the first to actually make a move  
towards the girl, who was just standing blindly  
in the doorway of the meeting room. She took two  
long strides up to our best friend and shook her  
gently.   
"Serena? Snap out of it!"   
"Yeah, tell us where in the name of Mars have you been?!" I   
put in, suddenly finding my voice and realizing how upset I   
was that I ahadn't been told about her appointment, that she  
was going to be late... that she had basically gone AWOL on us!  
"I...I..." Serena stuttered, trying to find her voice.   
"Um... Serena, what's wrong?" Mina repeated, her worried tone  
increasing.   
"I...I..." Serena stuttered again.   
"Maybe we should let her be guys, she looks kinda sick." Amy   
remarked. Lita nodded solemnly, but Mina and I exchanged worried  
glances, and continued to stare down our friend, in hopes that she'd  
tell all.   
To all our astonishments, two fat tears made their way out of   
her eyes. She was crying! And for once, it wasn't because someone  
had teased her, because she had clutzed out...   
'Darien. It had to have been Darien!' Lately, Serena cried  
less and less LOUDLY, and more and more softly, to herself.   
Usually, if I remembered correctly, a run-in with Darien.   
But what would he be doing around here? Was it at all possible  
that he still loved Serena? I sure as hell hoped so, because  
there was no way I was going to just stand by and watch my friend  
get hurt like that.   
Come to think of it, why hadn't I confronted him before?   
His being my elder or my "Princess's" guardian (or MY ex, for that  
matter) didn't mean anything to me. NO ONE, but NO ONE hurt  
my best friend and got away with it!  
"Serena?"   
"Serena?" She suddenly clutched her head, as if our soft   
voices were pounding her from all sides. I'm only so vivid  
about it because the one thing we have in common is intense  
headaches. Usually after vivid dreams or visions, and being  
the Princess, Serena gets them often.   
"Hmm? Oh, I'm so sorry guys... I just spaced out, you know,   
girl problems... um, oh gee, look at the time, I better go! BYE!"   
Serena grabbed her bag and shot out the temple.   
I stared after her in worry, knowing, like the others,   
that "girl trouble" was not behind her strange attitude.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
That strange attitude vanished almost as quickly as it  
had come. I was beginning to forget about my original suspicions,   
and attriubute her strange mood swings to "girl trouble" or if  
not that, Darien.   
I, unfortunately, never got around to talking to him.   
Though I do the whole job, sometimes I never get around to  
starting the job in the first place. Raye's bad habit number two:   
procrastinating. I think it's a habit that rubbed off from Serena.   
I would have said I hang too much around her, but the  
truth is, I don't hang around her enough. Maybe if I did, I'd know  
why she was keeping something from all of us.   
The weeks passed. By the end of the month, Serena was  
back to her old self... but she dropped a major bombshell on   
us all.   
"Um, guys. I'm moving."   
"WHAT!?" I screamed. Moving? To where? What about her  
responsibilities? What about her duties, to us, her friends,   
to the Scouts, to the city of TOKYO!?   
"Hey, hey, calm down Pyro." I grimaced at the nickname,   
and stayed quiet throughout the rest of her explanation.   
"I... um... well, see, I think I need the responsibility.   
I mean, in a few years, I'm going to be a legal adult, and   
I can't depend on my mom waking me up every morning, or  
Luna biting me on the ankle when there's an attack and I've stuffed  
my communicator under a pile of dirty laundry." She was unusually  
quiet, and I swore I saw some tears forming in her eyes.   
But she managed a smile, and then she looked down, at  
her balled fists. Why was she acting as if this was hard? I  
mean... it wasn't outside of Tokyo, was it? If this was her own  
choice...   
'But what if it wasn't?' I couldn't imagine how it could  
not be, but...  
"Serena," Amy began, and I heaved an inward sigh of relief.  
Count on Amy, usually silent, but also intelligent, to break  
the ice when it came to what we feared the most: Serena leaving  
us.   
"Are you..." To my surprise, even Amy, at this point, was  
speechless.   
"Leaving you guys?" Serena looked sad for a second, and  
that ten-ton weight of emotion pounded against my ribs painfully.   
Serena was very intuitive, I had always known that, but still...  
"No." Serena smiled, and she grinned wider when she heard  
unanimous sigh of relief.   
"I'd never leave my friends like that. I have family,   
friends... and responsibility here." Serena had sounded so  
mature in that moment, that if the girl standing before me  
hadn't had the classic meatball hairstyle and shimmering  
blue eyes, I would have shook her and said,   
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend!?"   
But of course, I didn't.   
In the hours that followed, Serena described in detail  
the apartment her parents had helped arrange for her to get.   
Though Serena was paying the monthly rent herself, (she didn't  
say how)the rather expensive place, in an exclusive part of  
Moto Azabu, the actual reservation for Serena was made by her  
parents. However, until Serena had fully moved out, and   
then moved into her new apartment, we wouldn't see anything.   
"Serena," Lita started, when we were comfortably settled  
in her room, after we had had lunch downstairs, courtesy of  
Serena's mom.   
"Um, what about Luna?" At this subject, Serena looked  
a little downcast.   
"Aren't you going to take her with?"   
Though this contradicted Serena's "wish" for a sense of responsibility,   
Luna was still a big -no, MAJOR- part of Serena's life, and she   
couldn't just abandon her.   
"I could... I could ask and see if the apartment allows cats..."   
Serena began, wringing her hands in her lap, obviously nervous.   
"No." We all turned and saw the black feline in the windowsill,   
looking eerily serious. Though she was a cat, Luna often had the   
ability to take on human expressions, and it was scary. I wondered  
if any other humans -like Chad or my Grandpa, for example- had   
ever noticed this before, and might... KNOW something.   
"Serena..." Luna started, not quite looking at anyone.   
"I have to stay here." Serena opened her mouth to protest,   
but no sound came forth. The room was silent. It was I who broke  
the ice.   
"Why?"   
Luna turned to look at me, but she also looked at each of the   
others individually, before staring at her paws again.   
"Serena's right. She needs to develop a sense of   
responsibility. Plus, each of us has to have easy access to   
the Central Command at the Arcade, and I, namely am closer.   
Plus, SOMEONE has to watch over Rini."   
At this, we all remembered the little girl. There was  
no way Serena could afford an expensive apartment in the  
exclusive district of Moto Azabu, AND a cat, AND a child.   
"I understand." Serena whispered.   
It had been Luna's choice all along, but it seemed she had  
made her decision, long before we asked.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
//Two Months Later//  
  
Time flew. Serena had matured, physically and mentally, in ways  
that are beyond description. By the end of the year, she was  
getting straight A's in school, and even had bought herself a  
dayplanner to plan out all her appointments. She was never  
late to a Scout Meeting, and she no longer fretted over  
Darien and Rini.   
I knew something BIG had happened, but because of the  
unfrequency of attacks, and the constant "other things" Serena  
had to do, I saw her less and less.   
I missed her dearly, and wanted more than anything for  
her to just come to the temple, and bury herself in my   
unread stacks of manga.   
Where was my best friend, to knock my piles over, to  
stain them with Chocolate fingerprints, and to laugh so loud  
that the neighbors could hear?   
I was about to pick up the phone and call her when my  
communicator went off.   
"GACK!! Attack over on Otoharu Street! Get here on   
the double!" Mina's voice screeched. It seemed as there   
were a great many people out this sunny afternoon,   
and because of the confusion at this sudden droid   
attack, Mina hadn't yet had the chance to attack.  
I prayed to the kamis that she was alright.  
I sprinted down the temple steps and down to Otoharu  
Street, found an abandoned alley, and transformed.   
As I emerged from the alley, I was greeted with  
Sailor Venus and Jupiter. Where was Mercury? Or Moon?   
This was the first attack in a long while,   
and they seemed the most likely to do it  
and get it over with, or find out why the heck a droid  
was attacking when we'd come so close to peaceful times.   
Jupiter and Venus, on the other hand, looked like  
they were having *fun* as Jupiter openly taunted the  
droid, and Venus actually pulled at her Love-Me Chain  
in eagerness.   
I felt a sickening pain in my stomach as I joined them  
in battle, beginning the fight with a burning flame aimed  
towards the droid.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Only twenty minutes later, the droid was beaten.   
By ourselves, it was much more of an ordeal, and especially  
without Mercury to help us find a weakness. They hadn't shown   
up, and I was extremely worried, to say the least.   
I moaned in pain, and my right arm hung limply at my side.   
It was broken, I knew. It didn't take a Sailor Mercury to   
figure that out. However, I was not alone in my pain.   
Jupiter's left arm had been cut open with one of the droid's  
hidden blades, and Venus' had been singed with a reflected  
burst of fire.   
My ankle hurt more than my arm, as I had been picked  
*up* by the droid and thrashed about by a rag doll. I felt  
weak, both inside and out, and hated to admit it. I never  
wanted to be visibly weak. Weakness was a thing of the insides,   
not meant to be shown or shared.   
I winced. My ankle hurt like the dickens, because of the  
thrashing it had gotten, and the attacks that it had taken,   
as opposed to missed. Burned, sprained, and no doubt pulled  
one way or the other.   
But through all my pain and self-berating, I heard  
a faint beep.   
I pulled my glove down far enough to reach my communicator,   
and pressed the button. The message was fading, as it was  
on repetitive relay... and judging from the time stamp, it had  
been sent almost forty minutes ago.   
I motioned the others over to me, and we listened to the  
message.  
"Scouts...attack... main...park...Rini..."   
Mercury's gargled and now eroding voice came over the line.   
I felt my heart plummet to my stomach. If Rini was involved,   
Serena would surely be there. As much as she was annoyed  
by the spore, she held a space for her in her heart, like she  
did with all of us. However, with Rini, it was more like...  
well, motherly love. With us, it was sisterly... and we  
all knew it.   
Forty minutes, and the only ones fighting were Mercury and  
Moon?!  
The only words spoken after the indeterminable amount of  
silence were by me, when the message had finally eroded itself  
to nothingness.   
"Oh god."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
We would have run there if we hadn't had such bad injuries,   
would have teleported there if we had enough power. But we didn't.   
So we ignored the stares we got from passerby as we stumbled to  
the park... and arrived just in time.   
"Mercury, what happened? Are you all right?" Jupiter yelled.   
"Yeah, everything's fine." Mercury told us, somewhat quietly.   
"Is she okay?" Venus asked. Mercury didn't say anything for a   
minute, and I wondered if she was holding it back. But Amy? No, she  
was Serena's best friend too, and wouldn't keep secrets from us,   
her best friends and comrades.   
"She'll be soon. Let's get her to some place warm." Mercury said,  
noting the cool breeze blowing through the park.   
"Ungh..." I limped onto the scene, as I had been leaning on  
a tree some yards away. Finally, I got sick of not knowing exactly  
what happened, and attempted to go over there.   
"What happened?" Mercury asked, almost calmly. How could she  
be so collected when our leader was fallen?   
"We got attacked by another droid on the way here; that's why  
we're late. Both mine and Venus' arms got beaten, and Mars here is   
on a sprained ankle." Jupiter informed her.   
"Oh dear, how are we supposed to get her anywhere?" Mercury  
asked, motioning to our leader. We shook their heads in response, not   
knowing what to do.   
"I'll help." A distinctly male voice announced. We turned in  
surprise, and were faced with Tuxedo Mask. He immediately  
went over to Sailor Moon, and picked her up. Jupiter and Venus tried to  
help, but their arms were too sore to keep lifting. And as I couldn't   
walk very well in the first place, Mercury had to help me as she led the way.   
We detransformed, leaving only Tuxedo Mask and Sailor  
Moon transformed. We hurriedly rushed the tall man holding   
our leader into the lobby of the apartment complex that was Serena's  
home, hoping we'd go unseen.   
When we finally reached the elevator at the end of the hall,   
Tuxedo Mask broke the silence.   
"Why are we here?"   
"We're bringing Serena home, of course." I responded simply.   
Then I flushed scarlet, remembering that Darien didn't know that Serena   
had moved.   
But Darien didn't say anything, he only looked puzzled.   
When the elevator chimed to say it had reached the floor Serena   
lived on, we rushed out.   
We reached a door marked 'Serena Tsukino-630' and stopped.   
I reached under the carpet that said 'Welcome' and pulled out a   
key. After manipulating the lock for a few minutes, I got it to open,  
and stumbled onto the white leather recliner Serena had in the main  
room. Everyone else followed suit, with Mina and Lita going to   
the bathroom to tend to their arm wounds.   
I watched carefully as Tuxedo Mask took off his mask and hat,  
and lay Sailor Moon on the black leather couch beside the recliner.  
Amy started to scan her, and I noted her furtive glance towards Darien.   
Was there something he wasn't supposed to notice?   
In any case, he wasn't paying attention. Rather, he was  
looking around in surprise. If he couldn't tell that this was  
Serena's own apartment, from all the photos of her and her friends,   
posters of Sailor V and bouquet after bouquet of red roses   
decked the walls and endtables... well, then he was just stupid.   
Darien looked around in awe (probably just as astonished as  
I was when he saw the NEATNESS of the place...) and moved about  
slowly. His eyes traveled from the contrasting furniture, the  
balcony with a view to die for, and the two guest bedrooms that  
Serena often let us use.   
Apparently, Amy also noted Darien's wonderments, and she  
spoke, just barely looking up. I was resting on the recliner near  
the fireplace, my eyes halfway open and my arm sprawled on the  
armrest.   
"Serena lets us stay here sometimes, because she's got two  
guest bedrooms, and the recliner and the couch fold out." Amy   
explained.   
"I think we better stay here tonight." I said from the   
recliner. Amy agreed wordlessly, and the Mina and Lita, emerging  
from the bathroom voiced their opinions.   
"Yeah, she might get drained again or something, so we should  
keep watch."   
"Everyone's room?" Mina asked. Mina and Amy each had their own   
room, while I preferred to sleep on the folding recliner by the   
fireplace and Lita on the long couch-bed.   
"Yeah."   
"Uh, Darien, why don't you help carry Serena into her bedroom,   
and I'll stay in there, make sure she's okay. You can have my room."   
"All right." Darien gently hoisted Serena into his arms, the   
girl sleeping so softly and peacefully, one might think she was  
having a pleasant dream...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I myself fell asleep a while later, after I had asked Mina to  
set up the fire. Like at home, I preferred sleeping next to fire.   
Perhaps it was my affinity to the element, perhaps it was in case  
I had a vision and needed a flame to purify, to become one and sacred  
with, and to gather divinations from.   
The Sacred Flame was my link to my past, my future, and my   
powers. I wondered, at one time or another, if it could be used to  
look at the present. To answer so many of the questions I had...   
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"   
I bolted upright from my half-sleep and looked around startled.   
I immediately moved myself off the leather recliner, being careful not  
to get my ankle or arm bandanges caught on anything. I stumbled  
towards the door to Serena's room -where I knew the scream had come  
from. Right behind me was Lita, and just emerging from the  
guest rooms were Mina and Darien.   
I pushed the door open, and saw Serena, panting heavily, and  
Amy, at her side comforting her. For a split second, I was insanely  
jealous of one of my own best friends. What did Amy know that I   
did not? Why couldn't Serena share her secrets with me too? Didn't  
she know that I loved her, just like I loved the other girls, like  
a sister that meant so much more than the world to me?   
"SERENA!" I yelled, getting the attention of all present.   
For someone who had basically had her leg numbed, I was pretty good   
at springing over everyone else who blocked me, though I had been the   
first on in the door, I had my injury that held me back.   
I was at her bedside in a second, urgently staring into her  
etes which watered with an unknown fear.   
'A dream.' A voice inside me whispered. She must have had a   
nightmare, I reasoned. Judging from her fast-paced breathing, watery   
eyes and flushed cheeks, it was more than probable.   
"Serena?" Darien was there as well, looking rather pale  
himself, but not as haggard as the rest of us, who had been awakened  
from their sleep. Darien searched Serena's eyes, and I spotted that  
longing I had known for so many years. True, I had gone out with Darien,  
but I think I had always known that it had been a crush and nothing  
more. Maybe the fire within me had insisted on being their matchmaker...  
Serena and Darien's. And in a way, I was.   
Serena and Darien expressed their true feelings through insults,  
but in both their eyes, I saw that gleam, that shine. They both  
enjoyed that exchange every day, and unbeknownst to all but myself,   
went back for more, just because of that.   
I was pondering how I had truly helped bring them together,   
and how I had to get them BACK that way when we all heard a  
shattering sound. Or rather, a crack... like the sound of breaking   
glass.  
We turned towards the sound, as did Serena, who was brushing away  
a sheen of sweat that had appeared on her brow. She blanched and was  
as ashen as a sheet of paper... and I saw where her gaze was directed.   
A picture of Darien and Serena, his arms around her as she  
made the 'V-is-for-Victory' sign and smiled brightly at the camera.  
They looked like two pieces of a puzzle. They BELONGED together.   
I blinked only once, and then I saw what made Serena turn as white  
as she did.   
Darien... slumped over Serena. The light must be hitting the  
picture strangely, I thought, but I knew it couldn't be. The   
light was off, and the curtains were closed. How was it that I   
could see it? As far as I knew, the other girls hadn't noticed   
anything, judging from their blank looks.   
"Darien..." Serena breathed. Darien heard this, and followed  
her glance to the picture.   
"Oh Darien!" Serena cried, tossing the picture onto the table   
and reaching for him. Lita, Mina and I watched in silence, and   
I was praying that whatever had happened between them would be healed   
soon...  
Amy glanced at Serena, up and down, and then tapped the  
sobbing girl on her back. I didn't understand until later why  
Amy interrupted such a moment, and most possibly, their chance for  
reconciliation.   
"Ssh, Serena, it's okay..." Darien was whispering, holding and   
rocking her like a small child.   
"Serena." Amy stated quietly.   
There was a silence for a while, and then Serena looked about.   
I saw her eyes move from our casts to my leg, and the bruises scattered  
here and there on our bare skin. Worried, as usual.   
"Let's go back to sleep guys, we all have a meeting to attend  
tomorrow." Amy covered. I wanted to stay, but I knew that whatever  
was going on, I wasn't apart of it -yet.   
I yawned tiredly and followed Mina and Lita outside.   
As Mina shut the door to her room and Lita collapsed on the  
long couch, I cast a glance at the door. Through it,   
I could see Darien, still holding onto Serena.   
He still loved her. I knew it then, and nothing would  
convince me otherwise.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Some minutes later, Darien emerged from the bedroom, and I   
feigned sleep. He looked truly depressed, and incredibly haggard,   
as if he hadn't gotten ANY sleep at all. Was he too, haunted by dreams?   
I contemplated just what might have been said after we left,   
until finally, curiousity got the better of me. But I couldn't just  
barge in there and demand to know what in the name of Mars was going on.  
So I decided to get a glass of water.   
I was only three feet away from the door when I heard Serena's voice.   
"And?" I wasn't sure if she was all right or not, and I needed  
to muster up my courage to talk to her. I was going to wait outside  
the door, but for what?   
I knew just what I was doing... eavesdropping.   
'It isn't right to eavesdrop...'   
I wandered farther into the kitchen, to fill my glass, but I still heard  
Amy's response.   
"And you are three months pregnant with a heathy baby."   
I immediately dropped the glass I was holding, and fainted.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The next thing I remembered, the girls were all hovering above me,   
looking worried beyond belief. Darien had also popped out of his room,   
and was standing on the edge of the confusion.  
Mina looked the most concerned and was the first to pipe up.   
I sat up groggily and managed a weak smile. My ankle still smarted.   
"Unngh..."   
"Raye, are you okay?" Mina asked me, a frown painting her   
features.  
"Yeah um..." I saw a partially suspicious glare coming from   
Amy and smiled blithely.   
"Butterfingers?" I managed.   
"You-You fainted!" Lita persisted.   
I paled a little bit, seeing Amy's gaze intensify. For the first time  
in my life, the girl almost SCARED me.   
"Yeah um... I was feeling dizzy, and wanted a drink of water,   
but I fainted before I could get it. Butterfingers." I managed  
yet again. Amy only nodded and went back into the bedroom, while the   
others seemed harder to fool.   
Darien, however, must have sensed that whatever REALLY happened,   
he was not part of, and so let it be. He went back to his room.   
"Guys, I need to talk to you."   
"You're all right, right?"   
"Yeah..."   
"So it can wait, right? I'm SO tired!" Mina yawned. I  
rolled my eyes, and found myself yawning.   
"Yeah..." Lita agreed sleepily.   
"Fine. But I'll be up early. This cannot wait until after  
that." I agreed. Lita and I padded off back to our   
sleeping accomodations in the living room, while Mina retired  
to her own room.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
//Next Morning//  
  
As I promised, I was up early, and so I woke Mina and Lita  
up early as well.   
"MMngh? Hey, Raye, it's only 6:00!"  
"Good. That means Amy and Serena won't be up yet!" I said.   
"Huh, what does that mean? Why do you care if--" Mina protested,   
following me out of the room.   
"Wake up, long fellow!" I hissed at Lita.   
"Guh?"   
"WAKE UP!" I hissed again, venom seething in my voice.   
I had only gotten a few hours of sleep, for the news I  
had heard the night before had kept me awake, contemplating.   
Lita's stomach growled loudly, and reminded us all that   
it was breakfast time, no matter how early, and she rose.   
I pulled her into Mina's room before anyone could do   
anything, and started.   
"You remember when Serena came to the temple, and was acting  
really nervous?" I asked, in a tone much too serious for everyone's  
own good.   
"Yeah..." Mina nodded slowly, along with Lita.   
"That was what, two months or so back?" Lita asked. I nodded.   
"And since the Grim Man, there haven't been any attacks... weird,  
that was almost around the same time." Mina added.   
"That's not what I'm worried about, though." I whispered.   
"Huh?" Lita and Mina said almost unanimously.   
"What's wrong, Raye?" Mina asked.   
"Serena. It's... ever since then, she's been acting really weird.   
Until now, I never thought much of it, or why. But..."  
"But now, you are thinking about it."   
"Yeah, why? Is something wrong with her?" Lita queried.   
"I'm not sure... but I overheard something last night."   
"Well?" Lita asked eagerly, settling on the far end of the bed.   
"Well um... Serena is... she's sort of... oh, how do I put this?"  
I fumbled with the words that, in her head, seemed so easy to say.   
Why was it so hard now?  
"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Mina breathed.   
Slowly, I nodded. I didn't think how Mina could know, but then again,   
she and I were the closest bonded to Serena, next to Darien himself,   
that is. Perhaps it was logic that finally triggered it, I'm not  
sure. But a silence enveloped the room, as the truth suddenly crashed  
onto us with resounding force.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lita made the breakfast, and the wafting smell of her delicious  
banana pancakes drew everyone out from their seclusion. None of us  
said anything outright; I had the feeling that if Serena didn't  
want US to know, she certainly wouldn't want DARIEN to know, and  
would no doubt say so herself if she knew WE knew...   
So I told the girls the minute we were alone not to let  
Darien know. We all agreed to keep our secret secret... though  
the secret was really Serena's secret that she had been keeping  
secret from us... oh, never mind.   
Mina, Lita and I did our best to exchange hidden, knowing  
glances. While pasuing to flip a flapjack, Lita motioned to Serena's  
slightly swelling belly. I noticed it too, and was amazed that Tuxedo  
Mask -Darien- hadn't noticed before, when he carried her inside, in   
that tight little outfit we all have to wear as Scouts.   
Or her glow, as pointed out by Mina. No doubt, Serena was no only  
more mature, but more... cheerful. She was silent, and nervous this   
particular morning, but considering the circumstances, who wouldn't be?   
It was uneventful. Somehow, the secret glances Mina, Lita and   
I had were seen by Amy... and she cast us that warning glance that we  
all understood: tell no one. ESPECIALLY not *Darien*. We nodded.   
We all took turns showering, and when I was showering, Mina  
was getting dressed in her room, and Lita was sent downstairs to  
fetch Serena's laundry... Serena slipped out. We assumed she had  
been in the shower, but apparently, she had gone faster than we  
thought, and gotten out before we noticed.   
I knew Amy had aided her in her escape, before we forced  
Darien to leave and interrogated her. But she would be back soon,   
from wherever she was going. That much I knew.   
And I would wait.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
But by 11:00, Serena had still not returned. Amy forced us  
out, saying Serena would no doubt be tired when she got back   
doing whatever she was doing... no one but Amy and Serena herself  
knew.   
We all left, reluctantly, but not half as much as Darien.   
He lingered at the doorway, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him   
saw something to Amy. He looked pained for a minute, as if he hated  
being left out of her life so much.  
'I know how you feel Darien.' I thought to myself, before turning  
my full attention back to the short-lived conversation in front of  
me. The elevator arrived soon, and no words were exchanged between   
us girls and Darien.   
Darien went one way, we went the other... and then, we all   
split up, hoping that Serena would eventually call us, and explain  
everything.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Several hours later, after much patient waiting (you know  
how BORING it can get when there's no droids to look for in  
the fire?!) and several bags of chips, I recieved a call.   
Serena wanted us -all of us- to come to her house  
ASAP. She would explain everything.   
She had wanted us to be there in twenty minutes, but   
I knew we would be there in ten.   
And I was right. We all met out front, marched upstairs  
and barged in.   
"Explanation." Mina stated.   
"Now." Lita added.  
"Long, Good, Complete." I ordered.   
"From the beginning?" Serena asked.  
"The very beginning." Lita nodded.   
"Welll..." Serena tilted her chin up, and the story began...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
In detail, Serena described her dreams... the first one three  
months ago, when she first suspected she was pregnant, and went  
to the doctor's only a week later to have that suspicion conmfirmed;   
the second only recently, and the third, more in detail, the night  
previous.   
"Wow." Lita murmured.  
"I'll say." Mina added, her eyes wide.   
"..." I was silent.  
"WOW!" I finally blurted, hugging Serena.   
"Um, Ow!"  
I released the girl and looked at her like a sister would, knowing  
that Serena was going to be a mom... and I felt like I was going  
to be an aunt. It was like that between us. Like sisters.   
"Sorry, Sorry, are you okay?" I fretted suddenly.   
"Raye, it's okay, I'm fine." Serena reassured me, but I was  
still worried.   
"Serena, you mentioned you had had a dream at the beginning   
that kind of clued you in to what was happening with you." Lita  
changed the subject.   
"Yeah, I did. The first was so short, I barely remembered  
it until the second dream, just after I found out I was pregnant,   
happened. And then the third dream, last night, was more intense,   
more detailed. I was beginning to suspect that Darien was really   
involved, and that I hadn't been... assaulted or anything. Then,   
just this afternoon, before the DNA test I got earlier results came  
back, I had that third dream that kind of confirmed my suspicions."  
"How so?" Mina asked curiously.   
"It showed all the details of when Endymion and Serenity first   
met, first kissed, first... made love to each other. And I know  
*I'M* a virgin, so that was the only explanation."   
"And the test results?" Mina prodded.   
"Darien... Darien is the father of the child I'm carrying."   
"Wow."   
"How?! How?!" I stuttered. I didn't understand it. What did  
Endymion and Serenity's making love to each other a thousand  
years ago have to do with Serena being pregnant now, if she  
was a virgin?! It didn't make any sense, and it also defied  
the laws of science.   
"I think I can answer that." Amy said.   
"You can?!" Serena asked, astonished. I too, was looking  
astounded at my intelligent friend.   
"The Silver Imperium Crystal allowed us all to be reborn when  
we all died by the hand of Beryl over a thousand years ago, here,   
on present day Earth. And then again, when we all died in the attack   
against the Doom and Gloom Girls and Beryl in the present time. It's  
reasonable to assume that the power to rebirth us is in the Silver  
Crystal, and that power stems not from the crystal itself, but its   
user's heart."   
We all turned to look at Serena questioningly.   
"Every time you wished we could be reborn, to live again, your  
heart, the most powerful souce of energy, granted the wish. The Crystal  
only healed our bodies and minds so the wish would be complete."   
"And this connects to Serena... how?" I asked, motioning to  
Serena's swollen belly with my thumb.   
"Serenity DID know about the child back in the Silver Millenium.   
According to the story Serena told me, Serenity told Endymion the very  
day everyone died. Serenity knew it was pointless to live without   
Endymion, and that was why she threw herself into the blast Beryl sent  
at them. But deep inside, she DID want the child to be reborn. That  
wish, the wish to bring a hardly formed life back into being, could  
only be granted with a tremendous amount of power, not just in Serena's  
heart, either. So when her power level was the same as back then, the  
child was 'reborn' INSIDE Serena."   
"Ooooohhhh..." We chorused in understanding.   
"Do you really think that's the case?"   
"It's possible, logical... and... well, I can't think of any other  
way, scientifically." Amy blushed. In return for her response, she got  
two pairs of rolled eyes and two lopsided smirks.   
"I don't know." Serena whispered. All eyes turned to her.   
"Serena?" Mina asked.   
"I'm just not sure of anything. Should I tell him... I mean,   
he has a right to know..."   
"He'll probably feel obligated to take care of you, just like  
you DON'T want." Amy pointed out.   
"Yeah, and remember, what kind of a father would he be, leaving   
his unborn child and girlfriend before he even knows about the kid?"   
Lita reminded her. Serena paused, her eyes catching a faraway look,   
like a memory. I thought I saw what she saw, just for a moment: her  
being held by Darien, her doubts about their breakup, her hopes  
to get back together, and her fears of being such a young mother.   
"Yeah, maybe you guys are right." Serena found herself saying,   
despite what she really thought and felt.   
And then, I distinctly heard her voice in my mind:   
'Maybe they are...'   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Over the months that followed, we did everything in our   
power to prevent Darien from seeing Serena. Though part of me  
desperately wanted to tell him, as both her friend and his,   
I was HER guardian, HER companion, and HER loyal warrior  
with whom to fight beside. I could not sacrifice the trust   
bond between us without knowing the effects.   
Serena told us that she had told Andrew she was pregnant,   
and who the father was, the very next day after us. We thought  
it slightly funny that observant Andrew hadn't noticed that  
slight bulge in her belly before, but maybe he hadn't thought  
to look. Why would he?   
And that was the way it happened. Andrew and us prevented   
Darien from seeing Serena.   
A part of me believed that this was wrong, that this was   
destroying the eternal and sacred bond that they had. And yet   
again, the child she must be growing... soon, Darien would find  
out, and that bond would be stronger than ever. I knew, from the  
look in Serena's eyes when I saw her, that she yearned for  
Darien. And though I rarely associated with him anymore,   
I also saw that look in his eyes. They needed each other,   
and badly. The two were coexistent, and could not live without  
each other.  
Time passed. Serena hadn't transformed in over half a year,   
and had left all, if any, scout leader duties to Mina. Mina   
officially claimed herself as Serena's cousin, in this life (and the last),  
and this tidbit of news was spread around the Tsukino, Aino and friends   
families.   
"I'm gonna be an auntie!" Mina had cried enthusiastically when she   
finally found the family tree proclaiming her relativity to Serena   
and her as yet unborn child. She must have been the most excited out of us.  
Attacks only came once a month, if that, and so we got  
to live a somewhat peaceful life.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Serena was officially at the end of her second trimester, or six  
months pregnant. She was well rounded, and had to wear "official"   
maternity wear now. She was only allowed to work at the arcade for  
half the time she used to, but made up for the lack of hours by   
working at home, testing out new receipes to be added to the Parlor  
menu and fixing (or as Mina had slyly put it, rigging) broken games.   
Her house looked like a strange mix between a nursery (with  
what had been Amy's room being converted into the nursery), a  
mod young adult's house, and an arcade, with games set in corners and  
along walls.   
Serena was never dependent on any of us, who were still  
in school. Serena didn't "drop out", per se, she simply didn't attend.   
She still did all the work, read her text... having a baby meant   
needing knowledge, and Serena didn't want to be an uneducated mother...  
In fact, Serena had told us that her role model was Dr. Cunningham,  
who had told Serena on her appointment earlier that she herself had been  
a teen mother, and attended night school during her pregnancy in order   
to pass high school. And she had two part-time jobs that allowed her to  
pay for her own place, as well as get everything she needed for the   
baby. When she finally had her child, it was summertime, so she didn't  
have to worry about school. By the end of the summer, the father   
found out, and asked to marry Dr. Cunningham, who had been, back then,   
Laura Detweiler.  
The father took care of the child during the day while Laura  
attended Med School and college, and within half the time expected for  
a teen mother, Laura had her degree and PHd in Gynecology.   
"I wanted to help other girls who were teen mothers too."   
Dr. Cunningham had told Serena when she asked why she chose Gynecology.   
"I have the same idea... in a way. I want to be a nurse, and   
help cheer people up when they're sick. My friends all say that it's  
my best trait." It was.   
"Well, then, you'll be an excellent mother, because, more often  
than not, your baby will run to you whenever it's upset."   
"Yeah..."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I knew, one rainy day, that something was going to happen. I had  
had a dream, seen a vision, and consulted the fires. The one I was  
linked to, and the one in my heart. They all pointed to the same thing.   
It was going to be tough for them, but I knew they could make it.   
Smiling, I exited the Fire Room and changed, knowing that in a matter  
of hours, I would have to rush to the hospital. But at least Serena  
and Darien would be together again, and no force would EVER change   
that.   
I got the call only two hours later, sooner than I had expected.   
I took the cry of "Serena's in the hospital!" from Lita. Lord knows  
who she had found out from, probably Rini and Serena's parents.   
The better half of our time was spent waiting outside  
Serena's room, where Lita and Rini, both the first people we (that  
is, Mina, Amy and me) saw upon our arrival at the hospital, were.   
They explained that Darien had gone into Dr. Cunningham's  
office, distraught, and then come out moreso, when Serena had  
cried out his name suddenly.  
Both Darien and the doctor had rushed into the room, and  
hadn't been seen since. After what seemed like an eternity, the  
Doctor exited, and advised everyone to leave the couple some  
time to themselves. After that time had passed, we urged  
Lita (being the first one there anyways, and us being too  
shy, I guess) to peek in on them. She opened the door slightly,   
and we all peeked in from our seats and smiled.   
They were sound asleep in each other's arms.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Several days after the inital hospital incident, which  
I explained to the girls (as the doctors refused to tell us,   
Serena and Darien were too enraptured with each other, Serena's  
parents had left and Rini didn't understand hospital jargon  
regarding the birds and the bees), Serena announced that she  
and Darien were moving in together.   
I would miss having a spare fire to read, and I was sure  
Amy and Mina would miss having a place closer to school (or  
the mall, in Mina's case) where the could crash after a fight,   
or a long day.   
But it wasn't our problem anymore. Like with everything else,   
life would go on.   
I found out, almost a week after the incident and only two  
days after Serena and Darien had moved in together, that they  
had had a fight the day Serena was preparing to spend her   
first night at Darien's.   
Darien told me, many days later, that it was thanks to   
Serena's kindly landlord that he had been able to get into her  
apartment, get over himself, his ego, and his hurting, shadowed  
feelings, and confess his love.   
Interrupt Mina with a long sigh, the kind she sighs after  
reading one of those romance novels with a Fabio-look-alike on  
the cover.   
The conversation, in all its seriousness is broken, and  
we all (save Mina) burst out into laughter. Serena finished the  
story by saying how Darien had complained about how messy  
his place was, but truth be told, it wasn't at all.   
We were all gathered around Darien's dining room table,   
though it was really SERENA's table, that she had brought with  
all her other furniture. Darien hadn't minded that, as he said  
his old green furniture needed replacing anyways.   
Both Darien-ish and Serena-ish things scattered the   
flawless household, and it looked like the beginnings of   
a classic married couple's apartment. This thought sparked  
an idea in my head, and I started to conspire with Mina...  
but that's another story.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
End of Substory 2  
THANK GOD I'M DONE WITH THIS!   
Over two weeks in the writing!!!  
---Gomen ne to all ASMR readers... I thought I sent this in   
two weeks ago!!---  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  



	10. Part 6: Together At Last!

Title: Only 16  
Part: 6 : Together At Last!  
YAHOOOOOO!!!!  
By: Azurite  
Email: azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
Site: which one?   
www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida (Main)  
***********************************************  
Notes: Boy, this is a long time coming, ne?   
Maybe I should write the parts, THEN the  
substories... but of course, just to keep   
you waiting, I'll post parts, subs, parts, subs...  
and so on. Hehehe...   
Anywho, this part is called "Together At Last",   
and all the others will be titled soon too.   
  
Dedicated to: Padme, who is super-cool when it  
comes to my writing (and she's great herself!!!)  
Lois Fogg, Jlala, Sailor Peace, Sailor Backstreet...  
and of course, the crew of Impossible.   
  
More notes: Testing, testing, 1...2...3...  
Does anyone actually read these notes? Hey!!  
It's my birthday, this wonderful April the 14th.   
YAY!! ^_^ I feel nice... cuz I'm on break!  
  
Boy, am I lazy. I wrote this so many months  
ago, and now, on my 2nd to last week of  
summer vacation, August 11th, I'm apologizing on  
my hands and knees and kissing the ground you  
wonderful people walk on for staying with me   
this long. God, I love you people! 3  
*************************************************  
"Whew."  
"Yeah." Darien sighed, running a hand through  
his thick hair. He cast a sidewards glance at his  
pregnant and tired girlfriend. Earlier, he had insisted  
to her to take it easy, to rest while he worked on moving  
the furniture around, but she would have none of it.   
Truth be told, if he hadn't had her help, he probably  
would have had severe arthritis or have collapsed from the pain.   
She helped him greatly, and then some. But Darien knew not to   
underestimate Serena; it was incredibly foolish to do so, and he  
only ended up being wrong in the end.   
His apartment had been rearranged for the umpteenth time that  
month; it was because they had to clear out his "guest" bedroom  
for the nursery.   
"You know what?" Serena started, still breathless from all the  
moving she had done.   
'Uh-oh,' Darien thought. When Serena said 'You know what?', she  
usually would finish by saying 'this couch would look SOO good over   
there...' and she'd point to the OTHER end of the room.   
"What?" Darien said, looking at her nervously. He wasn't sure  
he (or his back for that matter) could take more moving. He just  
wanted to collapse onto his bed and SLEEP!  
"It looks great." Serena smiled and looked at him with a motherly  
pride in her eyes. The house looked spectacular -clean and yet   
still modern- and the room was cleared out for the nursery. In a few  
days, the girls were holding a baby shower, and Darien knew that most  
of the girls would be chipping in to get a gorgeous brass rocking   
cradle-crib.   
"Oh NO!" Serena smacked a hand to her sweaty brow in realization.   
The fear Darien had of having to move again came back tenfold.   
"What is it THIS time, Sere?" He did his best not to sound  
exasperated, but then again, if you had been in his place and had  
been moving green, musky furniture for the past four hours, well   
you too would be a little tired and exasperated...   
"Dare... it's nothing big, really, just..."  
Darien eyed his girlfriend with a hard stare. She was playing innocent  
again, and they both knew it.   
"What?"   
"Where am I going to sleep?"   
***********************************************************************  
"Ohmigosh!! Look at this guys!!" Mina pointed excitedly to a  
display in a department store. They were all browsing for that cradle-  
crib that Serena hinted that she wanted so badly.   
They had been browsing various stores for a while, and weren't  
having much luck.   
"What, is EVERYONE pregnant these days?" Raye had said after two  
hours of fruitless searching. She was regarded with several "We don't  
know her; she followed us from the parking lot"'s from the girls, and  
cold stares from all the mothers and mothers-to-be in the area.   
Mina finally got everyone's attention and pointed at the   
displayed cradle.   
It was similar to a canopy bed, in most respects, with a white  
frilled canopy cover, and four brass posts connecting to the cradle  
itself. The legs were bent so as to let the crib rock, and were  
obviously detachable, from the lines visible around the legs.   
"Not THAT! Look!" Mina pointed to the canopy, and the girls  
gasped in delight. The pattern printed in light colors were  
the five scouts and Tuxedo Mask- albeit rather tiny and somewhat  
deformed looking. Little crescent moons, planetary symbols and   
roses patterned the white space inbetween, and the frills were made  
of white lace.   
A hanging mobile with the six famous characters hung from the top   
bar supporting the canopy, and played a cute song (A/N: the Sailor Moon  
theme).   
"We just HAVE to get this for Sere!"   
"B-But..." Amy stuttered, seeing the price tag.   
"Yeah, um..." Lita said, seeing the five digits and eying them   
warily.   
"GUYSSSS!!!!" Mina whined.   
"Mina, look at the freakin' price tag!!" Raye nearly screamed.  
She was red in the face and huffing from frustration and no doubt lack  
of break from walking from store to store... to store...  
"Oh." Mina said, catching the price of ¥ 54,265 (about $500)   
"Where are we going to get that kind of money?" Raye asked.   
"Well...." Mina trailed off in that 'I have an idea, but it's   
really crazy, so you won't like it... but it'll work' voice.   
"What?" Amy asked, sounding almost irritated.  
"Um..."   
"WHAT!?" Raye, Amy and Lita exclaimed, exasperated.   
"We could use our life savings..." Mina stated quietly, as   
if all the waiting was meant for a solemn moment.   
Lita and Raye fidgeted. *Their* life savings were their  
inheritances, from when their parents had died. In Raye's case,   
it was money her father had sent her when he couldn't make  
it home for her birthday, or the holidays- which was every year.   
"It's not like we're not well off..." Mina continued, wringing  
her hands. She stared at the floor, embarassed.   
"She's right..." Amy started, quieter than even Mina.   
"Ames' mom is a doctor; I have money from acting here and   
there; Lita and Raye have inheritances, and money from work  
and stuff..." Mina began again, looking up.   
The girls simply nodded, knowing this was the right thing  
to do for their best friend.   
*******************************************************************  
"Ummm..." Darien started, stupefied.   
Serena looked at him expectantly.   
"Ummmm..." Darien glanced about, trying to think of a place  
where Serena could sleep.   
"Ummm..." His eyes fell on the couch. No, too uncomfortable.   
The loveseat? Too small. The recliner? No way, it needed cleaning.   
All the other furniture had been disposed of a while before.   
"Dare?" Serena questioned. He wasn't responding with   
anything more than "Ummm...", and that was starting to worry her.   
Suddenly, Serena spotted where his gaze fell. From the  
couch, to the loveseat, to the recliner... and then to his  
bedroom door. The one room they hadn't touched, as they  
had *both* agreed to let have some personality left in each  
of the rooms.   
A wide grin spread across Serena's face as an idea fell  
into place. No, not an idea, a *brilliant* plan!  
"Oh Darien... I'll just sleep in your room." And with   
that, Serena sauntered off, her bags in tow.   
Darien just stared agape as the words finally sank in.   
*********************************************************************  
It was early evening later that day, and Raye was kneeling  
before the closet in her bedroom. She was sorting through all her  
old treasures, and all her secret hiding places for money that she  
had acquired over the years.   
'Ha. From my so-called father.' Raye grimaced, the very thought   
of him angering her. Her father had deserted her after her mother had  
died, letting his political life take over all his time. He sent  
her money on her birthdays, money that Raye refused to spend because  
of where it had come from.   
'The pockets of people who didn't deserve to sacrifice it.  
For all I know, this money belonged to another mother somewhere   
in Hokkaido...'   
But still. She had accumulated quite a sum of money... and here  
was a good reason to spend it -and not selfishly on herself- ...   
Raye pocketed the wad of bills and walked out of her room.   
***********************************************************************  
"LITA!" Madeline yelled from the back office. The tall brunette  
bounced into the small managerial office behind the Emerald Cafe's   
kitchen.   
Madeline, a kindly woman in her late thirties, smiled at the   
young girl.   
"Here's this month's paycheck." She handed Lita a pink   
envelope and smiled. But Lita didn't seem as happy as she  
usually did after she got a check.   
"Lita, what's wrong?"   
For the first time in all the years Lita had part-timed at Emerald  
Cafe, Madeline saw her fidget. She twisted her arms behind her back  
and played with her fingers while rubbing her shoe against her calf.   
"Maddy... I mean, Ms. Brunsworth..."   
"Lita. You've worked here for several years and you are like  
a daughter to me. Madeline, or Maddy, please." Lita smiled.   
"I was wondering... if maybe... I could get an advance paycheck  
of next month too." Madeline looked at Lita quizically. Was she in  
financial trouble? Posh, it couldn't be. Her deceased family had  
left her a fortune which paid for her penthouse apartment in the  
middle of Tokyo...   
"See, my friend Serena..."   
"Ah, the Serena you've told me so much about. She came in   
about a month ago..."   
"She did?" Lita asked, surprised. She hadn't remembered that...  
"It was on your day off. She didn't know about your days off."   
"Oh." Was all Lita said. But a month ago?   
"Serena told me about her baby." Maddy stated. Lita nodded  
dumbly. How could Serena have not? From one woman to another, a  
baby was the most precious thing in the universe. Serena had  
been pregnant for a while now, and of course Maddy would have asked  
about it.   
'So when Serena came in, looking for me, she must have told   
Maddy about how she was pregnant... well, as much as she could tell  
someone who isn't "in" on our secret.'   
"And I'm sure you and your friends want to give Serena a   
wonderful baby shower. She definitely deserves it; that sweet girl.  
So, here is your advance paycheck..." Maddy scrawled out another  
check and handed it to Lita, who was staring openmouthed.   
Maddy smiled as she continued to talk.   
"And your raise, now that I'm promoting you to head chef."   
Silence.   
"Lita?"   
Silence again.   
"WOW. I mean, thank you. WOW... I mean, it's just..."   
Maddy stood and hugged the tall brunette and held her an   
arms distance from her.   
"Now get rid of that waitress uniform and put on your  
new uniform." Maddy pointed to a locker. Lita walked over to it  
and opened it. She gasped aloud. It was like her dream was  
coming true...  
The uniform was a beautiful white and green striped blouse,   
complete with green bow and pink rose in the top right corner.   
A double row of pearl white buttons made their way down the   
length of the blouse. A matching skirt with attached white  
skirt-apron hung from a hanger underneath the blouse. A small  
puffed hat with a green and white striped band completed the  
set.   
"It's beautiful..."   
"I knew your favorite colors were green and pink, and judging  
from the earrings you always wear, I thought your favorite flowers  
were roses, so..." Maddy trailed off sheepishly. Lita was like the  
daughter she never had, and wanted her to be treated as such. The  
girl had been through so much, and deserved to live a normal life  
compared to what she had to endure...   
"But... what about Darla?" Darla was the old head chef, a  
mysterious woman who looked about in her twenties. Lita never saw  
much of her, but when she did, she got a bad feeling. It was  
always dismissed, because there was no way a Negaverse monster  
would go through years without attacking people. So Darla  
COULDN'T be a monster.   
"Darla vanished a couple of days ago. I called her up;   
nobody answered. In the long run, we can't go much longer without  
a head cook. Darla is absent without leave, and no matter what  
happened to her, you're our new head cook!"   
"THANK YOU!" Lita smiled happily, hugging the older woman.   
Maddy smiled as she watched the girl leave the room, with some  
regret, but more thanks. She knew the money was being well spent.   
*****************************************************************  
Amy nodded and smiled as the teller handed her a slip  
of paper. Her college funds. True, thanks to her genius and   
her mother's well-paid job, she really didn't have a need for  
college funds. Any college would pay *her* to come to their school.   
For Amy, world-reknowned genuis, financial aid was free, and   
scholarships came a dime a dozen. All the money she had saved  
over the years -from winning chess championships, taking  
standardized tests and entering swimming competitions- was  
for naught. She had saved it just because she felt safer that way.   
Besides, schools in other countries probably didn't know  
about her, and she would need the money to get into them, to  
pay for her books and travel there...   
"Even so..." Amy said aloud to no one, as she walked  
into her expensive apartment where she lived with her mother,   
"I can always go to Azabu Tech, or K.O. University."   
Darien went to Azabu Tech, and had a few classes at K.O. on   
the weekends in the summer. He was studying to be a doctor,  
and would eventually be accepted into K.O. University to get  
his med degree. Amy, though she hoped to be a pediatrician  
and not a surgeon, would like to follow in his footsteps.   
Amy eyed the money, a hefty sum of ¥ 54,265,000.  
True, she didn't plan on spending all of this on Serena,  
but it never hurt to be prepared...  
"Yeah, $500,000 in yen prepared..." Amy muttered as she  
pocketed the smaller portion of the money.   
***************************************************************  
Mina padded carefully around her bedroom, fully aware that  
Artemis was watching her every movement.   
"Get lost Artemis, you're making me nervous!" Mina finally  
yelped. The cat yowled when Mina picked him up and tossed him  
out of her room. She made sure to lock her doors and windows, close  
the curtains and shades...  
"No one must know where I keep my secret stash of cash." Mina  
grinned. She walked over to her huge orange elephant sitting on  
her toychest. She turned it around carefully, and folded its ear over.   
A small orange zipper was revealed, which Mina unzipped. A wad of   
yen popped out from the ear. Mina repeated this process with the  
giraffe's belly, the gorilla's stomach, and the big happy face heart's  
behind. By the time she was finished, she had a sum of several thousand   
dollars.  
"Guess I'll have to convert this to yen." Mina surmised. She made  
sure all the zippers were closed and everything was in its rightful   
place before she hid the money in one place. Then, she opened all the  
doors and windows again.   
Artemis scratched at the door until Mina let him in.  
"Just what were you doing?" The white feline questioned   
suspiciously.   
"Particularly nothing." Mina grinned foolishly before  
turning out all the lights and going to sleep.   
********************************************************************  
After only three days, all the girls had gathered more  
than enough money to get Serena the cradle-crib. In fact, they had  
enough money to furnish an entire nursery -or four.   
However, they decided to be wise when spending, and only  
bought the one, with a small additional gift from each of them.   
From Mina, a small baby monitor set. From Raye, a tiny "Got Milk"   
babysuit. From Amy, a toy abacus with little animals decorating the  
bottom. And lastly, from Lita, a teething set that was shaped  
like various junk foods: candy bars, hamburgers and soda cans.   
"Aren't we being a little premature?" Amy asked the others  
as they made their purchases. Most of the items they were buying -save  
the crib- were for toddlers, not newborns or infants.   
"Think of it this way, Ames: Sere won't have to buy this  
stuff when the kid starts walking, learning numbers, teething  
or..." Lita had been about to say 'crying at all hours of the  
night,' but she withheld. Babies did that anyways.   
"Or?"   
"Never mind. All the parents I know anyway all say the  
kids grow up fast anyways. You know, 'Time Flies'?"  
Amy nodded as the girls paid for their purchases  
and had them gift wrapped collectively.   
The baby shower was to take place in one week -in  
the apartment where Darien and Serena now both lived.   
*********************************************************************  
'Ulp... what am I going to do... I can't turn her down!'   
Darien thought, sweat gathering uncomfortably under his collar.   
But Serena was already unpacking in his room.   
'I suppose I could live with sleeping on the floor...'   
*STUPID!! She IS your girlfriend, isn't she? And isn't  
she pregnant with YOUR kid? Might I quote: 'The one I want  
to spend the rest of my life with...' Ring a bell, Cape Boy?*  
The taunting voice in his head was ENCOURAGING him to...  
to...   
"ARGH!!!"   
"Darien?" Serena poked her head out of the door, her  
eyebrows raised in worry and confusion.   
"Are you..." She eyed him up and down, just to make sure,   
"Okay?" Darien nodded dumbly as she slipped back into the room  
to finish unpacking.   
'I will not sleep with her before we're married.'   
*What difference does it make? She's ALREADY pregnant.*  
'But--but...'   
*What, worried about her dad shotgunning you? HELLO...  
he already knows!*  
'That she's pregnant! But what if he doesn't know  
that *I'm* the father!? He'll think I...'   
"Dare!!! Can you PLLLEEEASSE get me some rainbow sherbet?"   
Before he could blink, Serena was standing in front of him,   
a pleading, puppy-dog expression plastering her angelic face.   
She clutched onto his shirt like it was a lifeline, staring  
into his eyes while her own sparkled stars.   
He groaned inwardly and smiled. Serena blushed a deep  
red hue; it was THAT smile that always made her weak in the  
knees. He gently removed her hands from his shirt and nodded  
slightly. Grabbing his jacket and wallet, he stepped over  
the few boxes they had left scattering the floor  
and went to the door.   
"Thank you honey!" Serena smiled brilliantly, and  
Darien rolled his eyes. What a manipulative little sweetheart  
she was.   
'God, I sound like a grandfather already.'   
She blew him a sultry kiss as he closed the door,   
leaving her to unpack the rest of her stuff.   
****************************************************************  
End of Part 6  
Dammit, it sat on my floppy disk for so damn long, as it is  
right now... and I'm ending it here because I can't think of  
a damn better ending. Insert random curses and lots of booing  
I'm VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY sorry, Minna-san.   
  
Say what? I'll have the substory out in a few weeks? Nah...  
make that... TWO WEEKS! Gosh darnit, I'll try like hell!  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  
http://www.geocities.com/azurite_moon  
  
  



	11. Part 7: Fighting Alone, Together

Only 16  
Part 7 : Fighting Alone, Together  
By Azurite  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
PG-PG13  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  
Sailormoon is not mine.  
  
I started this story because of something   
I heard in Health ed class about teen pregnancies.   
While I am certainly no expert on the subject, and  
have most definitely breached the lines between   
fantasy and reality in this fic, I would like to   
remind all my esteemed readers that teen pregancy,  
no matter how it occured, is a hardship that too  
many have to face. For some, the end result is  
a bundle of joy that grows up quickly but beautifully,  
and for others, it is a world of pain and sacrifice.   
I hope to get my initial promise across as this story  
progresses.   
  
I sincerely apologize for the extreme waiting-- see, my  
little writing Muse packed her bags and ditched me, followed  
by my Internet Muse, who decided to side with both my parental  
units and not let me get on the net. So... with that said, I'm  
ecstatic that both my muses have returned and I am currently   
writing this. I'd like to thank all of my wonderful, superb fans...  
without you, I'd have no reason to get this far. Also, I'd like  
to recommend the following books "You Can Write A Romance" and   
"How to Write A Romance", as well as "Beginnings, Middles, and Ends".   
These helful books have given me the jumpstart to work on my stories  
faster, better, and all that other good stuff fans want. ^_^  
Without further aideu, Part 7...   
------------------------------------------------------------------  
The woman clacked perfectly manicured maroon nails on the  
glistening marble tabletop. The black reflected back her smooth  
skin, shining, sharp nails, and grim expression as she stared into  
the table's surface.   
Slowly, but definitely, the clacking of her nails against the  
hard surface died away, as the swirling, wooshing sound from someplace  
unseen roared to life. At first soft, and then louder, the surface of the  
table warped, swirling like inky black liquid, and then reaching up to   
grasp the arm of she who dared to touch its surface.   
The woman made no attempt to fight back and allowed herself to  
be drawn into the darkness.   
  
Seconds later, she landed, black knee-high boots clicking softly  
on the surafce of the ebony marble floor. The pattern of the tiles   
matched that of the table that she had touched moments before. As the  
tall woman walked down the dimly lit halls, her dark hair swayed, the   
light from an unseen source filtering the darker black strands from those  
highlighted green. Pausing in front of an obsidian framed mirror and   
staring into its unreflective depths, the woman frowned.   
The murkiness of the mirror faded away, and a glowing garnet  
gem on a staff that the woman held beside her, her ever-present  
companion, absorbed it all, sending a pulse of ruby light into the  
mirror. It shined brightly once, and then images formed, glowing  
iridesecently on a red surface.   
  
The green-haired woman's maroon eyes narrowed into slits  
upon her viewing of the rapid images. Her frown sank deeper,   
and suddenly, as the images that had been speeding up with  
amazing progression slowed to a grinding halt, she gasped. Time  
froze as all rested in a state of limbo.   
"This is bad." The woman remarked to no one in particular.   
With a sad frown and slight shaking of her head, she turned and  
walked back down the hall. Her staff shined again, and the mirror  
once again dimmed into blackness. A fog-shrouded door appeared in  
front of the woman as she walked, and without pausing, she walked  
through it. As quickly as it had come, the door vanished, and the  
Hall of Mirrors was silent.   
  
~*~  
  
"I need your help." The green-haired woman said simply, her  
voice hinted with icy demand.   
Three young women looked up from what seemed like tiring,   
and yet fascinating work and acknowledged the traveler's presence.  
Two went back to work wordlessly while another paused in  
her tireless work to smile at the newcomer and then greet her formally.   
Her sisters scowled with frustration when their younger sibling arose  
from her spindle and happily greeted the tall woman clothed in black.   
"Clotho!" The middle one, holding a length of string out and   
measuring it with a long rod, berated her younger sibling. The eldest  
still frowned, but said nothing. The green one nodded politely to the  
others, and smiled at Clotho as the young one sat back down to work.   
Her fingers were not bruised or bleeding from her endless work, and  
her face not showed a single sign of tiring.   
"Why should the Priestess of Chronos need OUR help?" The eldest,  
who held a pair of silver shears, asked as she snipped a cord handed  
to her by the middle of the trio.   
"Atropos..." The green one began, frowing in distate at Atropos'   
tone.   
"Please excuse my sister, Eminence. She tires of this world of  
ours and wishes to more closely examine the lives of those she commands."  
"I do not!" Atropos snapped at Clotho. The dark-haired girl was   
unfazed, and continued spinning threads with a smile on her face.   
"All of you, please. Lachesis, you may understand the best."  
"My sister is right, Pluto-sama." Lachesis said softly, turning to  
the uniformed soldier with a regretful expression on her face.   
"Na-nani?" Pluto blinked in surprise, the confusion registering  
easily on her dark-skinned face.   
"Listen, Pluto," Clotho began rather casually, again pausing in  
her work. "You command all of time. What do we lost Fates do anymore  
but spin? It's probably not for anyone's entertainment but our own..."   
"That's not true!" Lachesis gasped, tears filming over her violet  
eyes.   
Atropos remained silent in the face of the brewing argument, cutting  
and measuring the cords for herself.   
"Lachesis is right, Clotho. Your presence in this universe is just  
as necessary as Saturn's, or mine, or... the Princess's." At this, Pluto  
looked away.   
"Something is wrong with the Princess?" Immediately, Atropos' attention  
was no longer divided; her voice was grave and all her attentions were focused   
on the upset Soldier of Time.   
"Something has gone wrong. Whether it began in the Tapestry or in   
the Hall, I'm not sure, or even if some outside force is disturbing  
the Rift..." Pluto looked back towards the Fates, now all facing Pluto  
worriedly.   
Clotho looked at the Tapestry of Fate, at the design only partially  
finished. A silver thread gleamed oddly in the tapestry of bright, solid  
colors. Hidden within the same area was a slowly shining gold cord,   
growing brighter with the slowing minutes.  
The Wheel of Fate and Fortune slowed to a grinding halt as Pluto's  
presence froze the very time around the foursome.   
Atropos caught where her youngest sister's gaze lay, and stared  
sadly at the thread.   
A vision flashed across her eyes, and zoomed in on the delicate  
thread that wove on its own into a magical tapestry.   
A strange bump, something horribly imperfect in the gentle cords  
of the Tapestry of Time, rested on one of the strings. It pulled at  
the thread, trying to weaken and break it... the knot twisted and ruined  
the delicacy of the cloth, making it unravel at a pace all to dangerously  
slow...   
"Dear Serenity..." Atropos cursed to herself.   
The other sisters fixed their gaze on the knot, on the shining   
strings intertwined so perfectly, and on the tapestry they were woven  
into. With their timeless vision, they saw the problem, and gasped   
in turn at the realization of things gone wrong.   
"It's...it's impossible!" Clothos uttered.   
"Obviously not..." Lachesis remarked, trying to fit in some of  
her trademark sarcasm, but not succeeding in the slightest.   
"I never *EVER* weave knots!"   
"I never caught a knot when I measured..."   
"And if I see a knot, I cut it off..." Atropos sighed heavily.   
"If it wasn't any of you, then how..." Pluto's maroon gaze  
fixed upon the knot.   
"I don't know..." Lachesis spoke for all of them. Her steely   
glance shifted from the knot back to the Guardian of Time.   
"But we've got to find out how before it's too late."   
One more glance revealed the ultimate strain on the string, and how  
soon time would start again until it snapped with the ease of  
shears on silk.   
  
~*~   
  
"Yummm!!" Serena smiled happily as she spooned rainbow sherbet   
into her mouth.  
*DING DONG*  
"I'll get it." Darien said simply, quirking an eyebrow at his  
pregnant girlfriend as she slurped rainbow sherbet into her pink   
mouth.   
Sighing, Darien opened the door... "Yes, can I help..." Darien  
opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the same pink haired  
munchkin who had caused so many questions and havoc before. Suddenly  
uncomfortable for some odd reason, Darien backed away, and managed an  
embarassed "Oh... hi Rini."   
Rini clutched her ever-present Luna-P ball tightly, as if it were  
her only solace from the real world. In a way, it was. Only Luna-P  
could console her from the harsh realities of this 20th century   
primitiveness... this scary, violent world.   
Though the future as Rini remembered it was also turbulent, it  
never *seemed* bad. Because she had the shred of hope that through  
this all, she would succeed at her mission; Luna-P would always be there  
for her, and she'd go back to the future, to Mommy, safe and sound.   
"Hi." Rini stepped forward somewhat shyly. She desperately wanted  
to find out what happened to Serena. It had been at least a month since  
she had seen her last, and Rini was curious to find out just what had  
happened.   
All she heard from Aunt Ilene was that Serena was... "expecting."   
But that only confused Rini more. What was Serena expecting?  
"Oh, who--" Serena stepped in the doorway and peered over Darien's  
shoulder to see who their visitor was.   
Suddenly, Serena was wracked with intense pain.   
"SERENA?" Darien was by her side in an instant.   
"I-- I don't know... what's wrong..." Serena bit out, clutching  
her swollen belly in frustration. If the pain was this bad now, she  
swore she'd need an ANESTHETIC when she had to give labor!!  
It felt wrong that she, who worked so hard for everything, should  
have the ultimate worry of wondering if she or her child would survive  
within a few months. How horrible it was for Serena to wake up each  
morning and wonder if when she woke up after labor, whether she was  
alive... or if her child was?   
All of Darien's attentions were on Serena, and Rini  
felt oddly out of place. She felt as if she were watching the past,   
a past where she wasn't meant to be. Suddenly, she felt lightheaded  
herself, and before she could utter a sound, she chanced a look at  
her hands. Luna-P's eyes were glowing with fierce intensity, and her  
own hands were fading into nothingness.   
Horrified, she looked at Serena, being helped up by Darien,   
and at that exact moment, everything started to waver uncontrollably.   
"...!!..." Unable to do anything by gape at the scene before  
her, Rini fell to the ground shaking. She didn't hear Serena call out  
worriedly, or feel Darien put his arm around her shoulder.   
But she heard a whisper of an echo of their screams as she was  
ripped from their time and space.   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
End of Part 7  
Hey! I've already started working on part 8! Aren't you proud of me!?  
^_^ *big smiles* sorry this took so long to come out, but I wanted  
it to be good... possibly even foreshadowing and kinda eerie.   
Hope it was! email me!  
Much luv, 3 Azurite  



	12. Part 8: The Truth Revealed

Title: Only 16  
Part: 8/10 : The Truth Revealed  
By: Azurite  
PG-PG13  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  
I do not own Sailormoon.   
See previous parts for my serious disclaimer on  
teen pregnancies.  
The 3 Fates aren't mine either, they belong to  
history, but I made them look the way I imagined  
them, and I created the two new characters introduced  
in this part, so... ask me before using them, please.   
Without further aideu...  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
"It's getting worse." Atropos said, eying the tapestry from her  
comfortable chair that she leaned forward on worriedly.   
Another knot formed, a loop of darkness tying strands formerly  
perfect together.   
"What can we do?" Clotho asked worriedly. She knew as well as  
the others did that once a strand was woven into the Tapestry, it  
could not be cut, or undone, without risking permanent damage to  
the entire fabric of time.   
Atropos and Pluto exchanged silent words with their eyes, and  
with a slight nod, Pluto made a decision. Sighing heavily, she  
tapped her staff to get everyone's attention from the tapestry.   
"There is a way... but it involves going back to the point when  
all this started... essentially, to undo what was done."  
"But...!" Lachesis protested suddenly, staring with great concern  
at the metallic strands.   
"Don't worry, Lachesis. We won't be doing it here. I have to take   
you back in time so that you can fix the Tapestry before the knots  
appear."   
"Because only Fates are able to modify the threads of time, right?"  
Clotho asked, getting the idea.   
"Yes. And only I have the power to travel between times, stop time,   
and so forth... so we have to work together to save the Princess from  
a Fate that could ultimately lead to disaster."  
"So... what does this mean? We can't just leave here... we're  
*fated* to stay here..." Lachesis trailed off. Long ago, she had  
discarded the idea of ever enjoying the life of a "normal" immortal.   
She had to stay in the Realm of Time, where eternity was as slow as  
molasses, and she had to dictate Fate along with her other sisters.   
"I can pause time for a short enough time to allow us to get  
our job done. But..." Pluto trailed off and refused to meet anyone's  
gaze.   
"You know as well as we do that if someone ever tried to pass through  
those doors..." Atropos motioned to the gates permanently sealed to the Fates.  
"That they would be sent to the very depths of Tartarus." Clotho  
finished off, white as a sheet.   
"But if the Gates don't know it's a FATE leaving..." Pluto trailed off,  
smiling. Atropos also smiled, but turned away from her awed sisters.   
"So...?"   
"I can give each of you Sailor powers, but only for a limited time. It  
will allow you to tap into your powers as a Fate without being in this form."  
"But if all of us go, who will maintain the Tapestry?" Lachesis   
inquired.  
"I'll stay." Atropos put in. Lachesis and Clotho looked at her,   
wondering if this was what she truly wanted.   
"I belong here. Both of you are young and need to experience at  
least some of the outside world. Go." She smiled and gave each sister  
her blessing of "Good Fate".   
Both girls walked up to Pluto and bowed lightly before her.   
Pluto touched the tip of her staff to their heads.   
"Lachesis, soldier of one's destiny... you measure how long one's  
life is, and thusly you are blessed with the power of Eternity. Living   
forever, but in charge of short-lived fates: Sailor Eternity!" A glowing  
lavender, silver, and white light pulsed from the Garnet Orb, and  
surrounded the tall, dark-haired maiden. Within seconds, she wore a  
sailorsuit with a lavender skirt, collar, and calf-high boots lined in  
white with a silver infinity symbol at the point. Her gloves had three  
ribs, one white, one silver, and one lavender. The stripes on her   
sailor collar were silver and white, and the tiny charm on her choker  
was a silver sideways 8, or the infinity sigil. Her tiara held a bright  
amethyst, and her eyes sparkled a brilliant shade of gray. In her  
hand, she held a staff that was long and silver, but with no  
particular weapon on the end.   
"What do I do with this?" Eternity asked.  
Smiling, Pluto pointed out the similarity between that elongated staff  
and Lachesis' silver ruler that she used to measure one's fate.   
"Your power within this staff is simple: 'Eternal Measure...   
Palliation!"  
"Palla-what?" Clotho asked blankly. Pluto rolled her eyes briefly and   
muttered under her breath, "You'd think living a few thousand years, the  
girl'd read a dictionary."  
"I heard that!"   
"It means to... weaken, but not destroy, essentially." Pluto explained  
a few moments later. Eternity nodded and spun her staff around, getting   
the feel of it. She jabbed it in various directions, as if she were  
a kendo expert with her bokken.   
"There is... another attack you must know, Eternity," Pluto spoke   
quietly. The first one was a weak attack, meant to soften the pain of  
what they all had to do, but this next one had to power to recreate all  
of destiny, simply by remeasuring the length of one's lifespan.   
"Infinite Tapestry... Ordination!" Pluto chanted, and Eternity nodded,   
her staff glowing in the tiny jeweled grooves.  
"I KNOW what ordination means, Pluto," Clotho said somewhat smugly,   
smiling proud like a puffed up pigeon, "But doesn't it mean 'the act of   
ordaining admission to the ministry'?"  
"Truthfully, yes, Clotho, but when these attacks were created,   
there was no such *thing* as a ministry."  
"Oh. Yeah."   
"Now it is your turn." Pluto smiled slightly. Atropos watched on the  
edge of her seat. Her little sister was quickly growing up, becoming one of  
the destined Sailors. She only hoped it wouldn't be a painful experience.   
"Clotho, spinner of the fabric of life, weaver of one's destiny...   
you are the spinner, the creator, the designer of every life... you are   
the soldier of Destiny!" A light glistened from Pluto's staff, and Clotho  
was encased in a fine mist of pink and silver.   
When all was clear, she wore a deep lavender skirt lined in a   
faint pink; her shoes were heels with straps traveling up her legs  
to her calf, with a silver symbol in the middle that looked something  
like a diamond with loops on its corners. Her gloves were white, sparkling  
with a faint silver, as was her brooch, with shined with the same symbol as  
fashioned on Destiny's shoes. The ribs were lavender on the ends, and pinkish  
in the center. Her tiara was a silver diamante, circling around her head   
perfectly, with two thin chains clasping it in place, hidden behind her   
thick ponytail of silver-white hair.   
"Wow... this is MUCH nicer than that dress I've been wearing the past  
milenia or so!" Destiny exclaimed, turning around to inspect herself. Her  
sisters sighed while Pluto rolled her eyes. It was always the younger   
generation...  
"Clotho!" Pluto and Eternity had to demand at the same time when  
Destiny wouldn't stop preening.   
"What?"  
"Your power...?" Atropos started, trying to get her littlest sister  
to remember the task at hand.   
"Oh, right." Pluto sighed yet again, and wondered if things were  
ultimately different, how well Serena and Clotho would get along.   
"Your powers are similar to your sisters-- one to create, and one  
to weaken, or destroy." Pluto began. She didn't forget the look on Destiny's  
face; one of sudden reluctance and doubt. But it vanished in a moment  
and Destiny had a determined look on her face once more.   
"'Destiny Veil Decay!' with your blade will slice the veil separating  
you from what is meant to be. It will destroy, piece by piece, the incorrect  
destiny. Your second attack is the opposite of the former one; it heals  
the destruction, and restores the shroud of true fate and fortune to what   
is necessary: Fortune's Shroud, Originate!"  
Pluto kept silent as she remembered the other attacks associated  
with Destiny and Eternity. Only in a time of great need would she need   
to reveal them.   
The two new soldiers nodded with understanding. They turned to their  
older sister, smiling proudly, and she hugged them both, with the faintest  
trace of tears in her eyes.   
Pluto gave Atropos a look of reassurance, one that spoke volumes  
of their mission. Atropos wore the mask of an expressionless face  
as the Soldier of Reformation formed a Space-Time gate and the two  
Solider-Fates walked through it.   
**************************************************************************  
"Oh... I'm so dizzy." Eternity murmured nauseously as they emerged from  
the Warp, in a bright white place.   
"Wha--?" Destiny murmured eloquently, the first to get her bearings  
and look around. Something was NOT right.   
"Oh dear, the problem in the Tapestry has extended to the Warp of   
Time..." Pluto murmured. She immediately recognized the surroundings;   
she had seen them in the Hall of Mirrors.   
She tapped her staff, and it vanished in a flurry of magenta haze,   
into her brooch. One wave of her gloved hand, and Pluto became Susan Meiou,  
dressed appropriately in a doctor's coat and light purple suit with blouse.  
"Oh, I get it," Destiny smiled, "It's time to *blend in*." With   
a wave of her hand, she disposed of her narrow, needle-like blade and   
gave herself a fuzzy pink sweater and a pair of white jeans. Her circlet   
fell down her brow and rested fashionably around her neck as a choker,   
and her thin, dressy shoes became pink canvas sneakers.   
"Oh well, then." Eternity sighed, doing the same for herself. She chose  
a darker ensamble; a dark purple three-quarters shirt with silver sparkles  
in an Infinity shape; a pair of lavender leggings and ankle-length black  
leathery boots, with the Infinity sigil as a clasp.   
  
"Where are we, anyway?" Clotho asked, after wandering around a while.   
"Juuban General Hospital. Approximately 3 months in the future  
of where we were *supposed* to go." Susan answered, a grim look on her face.   
Her magenta eyes were framed with wire glasses, slender and becoming on her   
tanned, green haloed face. She scanned a clipboard with papers that had  
been stuffed in a side slot near where they had teleported. As she read each  
line, she got more and more grim and silent.   
"What is it, Pl-"  
"Call me Susan, while we're here." Susan interrupted. "Matter of fact,   
you guys should get rid of the names, 'Clotho' and 'Lachesis' just in case  
someone asks." The woman said, staring at her companions.   
"Ally." Clotho said immediately. Her sister and her guardian looked  
at her in astute surprise.   
"How'd you decide so fast?"  
"I... I always wanted to go to this world, and I imagined names for  
myself. It took me a while to finally decide on one, but I really like Ally."  
"It means 'supernaturally wise', doesn't it?" Susan questioned. The  
newly-named Ally smiled and nodded.   
"And Susan? What does that mean?" Lachesis wondered.   
"Lily..." Pluto said almost wistfully, "My favorite flower."   
"Okay, sis, pick a name, any name." Ally smiled. Lachesis was  
thoughtful a moment, but then she was enlightened.   
"Sonya." Lachesis finally smiled. Ally grinned from ear to ear.   
"I guess we have the same taste in names, o 'sensible one'?" the  
girl made a pun of her elder sister's name's meaning.   
"Yeah, right. Let's get started."  
The threesome walked down the hall, and paused in front of a bank of  
elevators. A sign with arrows pointing in all directions showed visitors  
where everything was.   
"We're in the Maternity Ward." Susan observed. The other two nodded.   
"So...?" Ally trailed off, wondering what had gone wrong with their  
transport at the Gate.  
Susan and Sonya suddenly looked up towards an empty hall, and exchanged  
a shocked glance with each other.   
"Guys? Guys? Hell-oo??" Ally waved her hands in front of her companion's   
face, unable to discern what exactly they were sensing.   
"It's not possible." Sonya murmured. Susan looked at her grimly and  
simply said, "This knot may have formed and started causing trouble long  
before any of us could have sensed it. I'm afraid it's more possible than   
any of us think."  
"YOU GUYS!" Ally nearly screamed, catching the attention of her two   
fellow 'nurses'.   
"Come on. If we're three months from the place where we were SUPPOSED  
to teleport to, then that means the Princess is here." Ally motioned down  
the hall to the nursery, and the two others followed.   
Within a minute, they reached a hall of rooms.   
"The clipboard I snatched when we first got here said Serena was in  
Room 630."   
"Lucky, huh?" Sonya said, wandering down the halls, looking for the  
room.   
"Maybe. Maybe not." Susan said eerily. The others looked at the Guardian  
of Time and sweatdropped.   
"Here it is." Ally murmured, pressing herself against the wall so as to  
be unseen by the room's occupants. She was rather surprised that the scouts  
weren't here, but the smart side of her assumed it was because the birth  
of Serena's child was more of a family matter; the girls were probably   
downstairs, or in some waiting room.   
Ally on one side of the door, Susan and Sonya on the other, peered  
into the room. Serena was lying on a bed, her hair sweaty and matted to her   
brow.   
"How is he?" she murmured, wiping the sticky susbtance from her   
forehead. The doctor inside, one Dr. Laura Cunningham, grinned.   
"He's alright. Two broken fingers, but I don't think he noticed."  
Serena laughed.   
"Yeah, Darien's always had a high tolerance to pain." Serena smiled.   
"Humph. Must have had *practice*." Laura implied while smiling   
devilishly. Serena pretended to be shocked while waving her hand away.   
"I'll bring your new bundle of joy in, Serena." Laura smiled  
at the new mother and proceeded to leave the room. Susan busied herself  
with files down the hall, while Sonya and Ally ducked into an open,   
empty room. Once Laura was out of sight, Susan, Ally and Sonya followed  
her and went to the nursery.   
"Oh my..." Ally breathed. All the little newborns were bundled up  
in warm blankets with cute knit caps on their heads. Many were crying,   
others slept, and more still were cooing at the nurses that watched over  
them.   
"They're so *cute*." Ally sighed, smiling. Susan and Sonya exchanged  
a glance and looked themselves.   
"There's none marked 'Chiba'." Susan remarked.  
"What does that mean?" Sonya asked. Susan looked grim as she answered,   
"It means Darien and Serena didn't get married. I think that's  
a little odd."  
"Well, maybe Serena didn't want to have her dream wedding looking like  
a blimp." Ally remarked, grinning. Sonya stared at her sister with wide  
eyes, surprised that she could have made such a remark about their  
future Queen.   
However, the comment rang true, and Susan said nothing.   
"Tsukino." Susan pointed at the baby cooing. With silent shock, Susan  
realized that the child in the bassinet was not only NOT Small Lady, as she  
would have expected, but it was...  
"It's... It's... it's a *BOY*!" Ally exclaimed, her eyes blinking  
rapidly as if she were being disillusioned.   
"This is not right." Susan murmured, shaking her head.   
"We should get back to the Gate and check the Hall of Mirrors,"  
Sonya suggested quietly to Susan. "After all, there may be some clue  
there as to why this timeline is going so whack on us."   
Susan nodded and took her Rod out of her space-time pocket,   
ducking around a corner to ensure they weren't seen.   
She tapped it onto the invisible barrier separating the dimensions,   
and the Garnet Orb glowed for a minute, and then crackled, snapped, as  
if electricty were short-circuiting it.   
"What the..?!" Susan mumbled, trying again. The same thing, but the  
orb went dark this time, and when she tried it a third and final time,   
nothing happened. She quickly shoved the rod into her Space-Time pocket.   
"Well ladies, it looks as if we have to do this the old fashioned   
way." Susan nodded grimly to the other girls, who nodded abruptly.   
"Look!" Ally pointed. A group of five wandered down the halls  
towards room 630. Amy, Mina, Lita, Raye, and the new father, Darien.   
"I guess Laura brought the baby in then." Sonya mused.   
"Yes... but there was something off about that boy." Susan mentioned.   
"I sensed it too," Sonya agreed.   
The threesome had again reached the nursery and looked in on the babies.   
"I can't do this." Ally said, staring through the glass with vacant   
eyes. Only in the reflection did they show the shimmering of  
tears dripping down her face.   
"Do what, sis?" Sonya asked slowly, almost dreading the answer she knew.   
"How... how can we destroy this life?" Ally asked, turning, wiping  
her tears. She motioned to the nursery of children.   
"We have no idea how changing Serena's birth will affect the rest of the  
world. Children may DIE. Perhaps the whole knot formed for a reason, perhaps  
it was meant to!"  
"Clotho," Sonya lowered her voice as she used her sister's real name,   
"The Tapestry is *perfect*. The knot is sewn with evil, and we have to undo  
it!"  
"Lachesis is right," Susan said tightly, "The needs of the many   
outweigh the needs of the one, and right now, there are many people in  
the future that will perish in a much more painful way than never being  
born-- if we let this time continue."  
"The needs of the the MANY!?" Clotho exclaimed, reverting to  
her scout form. She stared at the Scout of Time and Reformation with  
anger glowing in her eyes.   
"There are many kids that will die or worse if we don't let what  
is done STAY done, and I'm not going to be a participant in your murder!"  
"Clotho, you're having doubts, we understand, but..." Sonya started.   
"You can't possiblly understand!! I create life, not destroy it.  
If you can grasp *that*, then maybe... one day you'll understand my  
position. So yes, I'm having doubts, second thoughts, whatever you   
call them. I won't do this. I'm sorry." With an apologetic look,   
she teleported away.   
Lachesis, who also reverted into Eternity, turned to the now  
Scout of Time, Pluto, who still looked pensive as she stared at the  
babies cooing in the nursery.   
"This..." Pluto began, touching her glass reflection, "This  
didn't begin here. You sensed it, Lachesis, when we saw Dr. Cunningham,   
and when we first got here."  
"But... it's not possible, is it?" Lachesis asked, turning wild  
eyes on her elder.  
"Perhaps, as I said before, this know began forming long before   
we could foresee the results of its formation." Pluto murmured.   
"I'll say. Who'd have thought that Queen Serenity herself would  
have been ressurrected after the Great War?" Lachesis whispered.   
Queen Serenity herself-- yet with no obvious memoruy of her past or  
powers to signify a future one.   
The two women stared forlornly through the glass. Echoes of what  
had been said only minutes before echoed in their ears, though they  
hadn't been physically present to witness it.   
"They're on their way up now, Darien from the Nurse's ward to  
get his fingers braced up."   
Serena gasped and smiled as her handsome baby boy was placed into  
her arms, giggling and cooing as he saw his mother for the first time.   
The 26 hour labor she had been through was well worth it.   
The babe stared up at his mother a few more moments before blinking  
his bright blue eyes up once, and then closing his eyes sleepily and   
suckling on his thumb.   
***************************************************************************  
Atropos opened her eyes from her deep, forseeing meditation,   
and a worried look overcame her face.   
"Clotho, no..."  
Her smallest sister had no intent of helping Pluto or simply returning to  
the Gate. She was going to the Lake of Dreams, on the moon.  
  
"Lacus Somniorum, Lake of Dreams." Clotho-- Destiny murmured. The  
lake glimmered with dreams, those happy sparkled, those sad and  
disturbing rippled the surface with waves of varying magnitudes. The lake  
was just northeast of Mare Serenitatis, the Sea of Serenity, where the   
Lunarians had once made their home, their kingdom. From here, Destiny could  
easily see the ruins of a once great, peaceful place.   
"If I change this... then I can avoid more than the deaths of those  
children. But... all of the people, throughout time. We can go back to  
the Silver Millenium, and keep the peace. I... can avoid Civil and  
World Wars, riots, and... even the forming of the Negaforce itself. I can  
save Beryl from her horrid fate!" With tears streaming down her face, Destiny  
remembered how she had sewn so many destinies, knowing they would be  
measured short, and cut far too soon. Those millions who had died in  
the World Wars, the many more millions that had died in Vietnam, Korea,   
Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, Civil Wars, Revolutionary Wars. The Earth could  
be united as one country again, with no wars or discrimination, no   
racism, no disease, poverty or pain.   
With all this in mind, Destiny decided to commit herself not to  
giving Serena a dream of warning, but performing the ultimate act of  
courage and heroicism.   
Destiny climbed the cliff scaling one side of the lake, and walked it  
until she reached the point where the waters were the most turbulent, the  
waves the most violent. She stared down at them like enemies and then smiled  
gracefully, before spreading her arms wide and falling into the inky blackness  
of the water with less than a splash.   
  
Meanwhile, back in the Fate's room, the tapestry began to glow.   
"What the...?" Atropos murmured, staring at the fabric. It shone  
brighter and brighter, its pure light comparable to that of the Silver  
Crystal, filling the room, the Gate, the Hall of Mirrors, and every  
Earth behind the many doors of Time. Wars ceased, damage was undone.   
Pluto and Eternity managed to exchange one last, terrified look at one  
another before they vanished into time, and the bright light tore across   
the Universe, and in fact, all of Space-Time.   
Once the light had dimmed, Atropos unshielded her eyes. She looked  
at the Tapestry of Time and felt her heart stop.   
There was nothing left of it save a few broken strands.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Gee, this turned out better than I expected *gryn*  
Well, I'd like to thank Marianya and Sailor Peace, not only for their  
wonderful ideas, encouraging support and time to talk to l'il ol' me,   
BUT... their incredible stories!! Go read them!!! MUSH!  
*Insert Star Wars ending theme*  
Oh no, it's not over yet!  
See the results of Destiny's "sacrifice" in Part 9/10: Hardships Aplenty!  
Should I continue doing substories?? You tell me, at azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
and be sure to visit by site: http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida.   
May the Force be with you, Always! ^_~  
Many props to the wonderful readers at FF.net who take their time to  
review me! This part is for you guys!!! ^_^  
Azurite, always and forever.   
  
  



	13. Part 9: Hardships Aplenty

Title: Only 16  
Part: 9/10 : Hardships Aplenty  
By: Azurite  
PG-PG13  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_azurite  
I do not own Sailormoon.   
  
See previous parts for my serious disclaimer on  
teen pregnancies.  
  
Many thanks to the kind souls who sent me letters  
via FFNet. For those who NEED to know, yes, this  
story was necessary to include the Fates for a   
while. I didn't mean to make it ALL about them,   
as you will be able to tell in this chapter. Only   
16 IS about Serena and her hardships, but this story  
CAN'T be so realistic that it takes the plotline out  
of Sailormoon. I suppose I'll have to make a readme  
so that makes more sense...   
  
The 3 Fates aren't mine either, they belong to  
history, but I made them look the way I imagined  
them... ask me before using them, please.   
Without further aideu...  
**********************************************************  
  
The Tapestry had fallen to nothing but a few loose  
strands. Destiny had committed the ultimate sacrifice  
by throwing herself into Lacus Somniorum. Rini had vanished.  
A child was born. Pluto and Eternity remained trapped in a time  
where they didn't belong. Paradoxes layered upon paradoxes,   
time falling apart. Glass shattered within the Hall of Mirrors,   
and no one seemed to have the ability to undo it.  
  
**A thousand years ago...**  
  
"I feel safe here, watching the sea and feeling the breeze. Just  
here with you." Serenity laid back on the grass with Endymion, simply  
enjoying being with him.   
"I feel the same... I love being with you." Serenity blushed  
at Endymion's bluntness.   
'Why do I have to be so poetic when trying to tell him how I   
feel?'  
"We mustn't keep meeting like this." Endymion said seriously.   
Serenity sat up, and looked at him.   
"Why?" She felt a great emptiness well up inside her. He wouldn't  
leave her... he couldn't. She LOVED him!  
"Communication between people of the Moon and Earth is forbidden."   
Endymion gathered her into his arms, and played with the golden tendrils of hair swirling around her ear.   
Her own hands brushed his cheek gently, sending tingles down his   
neck and spine.   
"It is the way of the Gods." Serenity agreed, tears falling.   
He hated seeing her like this, so upset. Gods, he loved her, but   
there was no way they could be together without risking everything.   
'We mustn't fall in love.' They both thought at the same time.   
'But it's already too late.'   
Endymion and Serenity clasped hands as he kissed her once again,   
slowly and passionately, his arm holding her against him, his warmth  
flowing through her shoulders where he held her.  
  
A wave of... *something* passed through the area, freezing the lovers in mid-kiss. No one moved. Ripples of the event horizon shimmered in the distance, freezing everything as it went. Suddenly,   
the whole world went black and spun backwards.   
Serenity and Endymion stopped kissing, she looked at him   
tearfully, and he broke his embrace. His eyes grew serious and cold,   
and then he walked away, backwards, but away. Serenity vanished in a   
thin beam of silver light originating from the heavenly skies, and   
the world slowly seemed to vanish.   
  
**Elsewhere, Othertime**  
  
"Prince Endymion." The woman's cool voice addressed the prince,   
who immediately came forward, his blue eyes filled with a darkness  
unseen by many.   
"There has been a disturbance in the world outside of the Dark   
Kingdom. We want you to go to the center of this disturbance. Take...  
advantage of the Princess's weak state there." It was Beryl's coldest   
way of telling Endymion to take the very innocence from a Princess who   
didn't even know of the existence of a Dark Endymion. What was more,   
neither did Endymion himself.   
All of his memories had been carefully fabricated. A past, a   
present, a future. He was destined to be Queen Beryl's loyal escort,   
attendant, and protector. He had been hurt by those of the Earth and   
Moon Kingdoms, and they had to be destroyed.   
Serenity... the Princess who acted so innocent. She was behind it  
all. Or at least, that was what Endymion was told. That was what   
Endymion believed.   
She had to be destroyed.   
  
When Endymion arrived at the "center of the disturbance," vague  
memories filled him. Of a shadowed feminine figure, calling to him,   
begging him for... *something*. Of a dance, with the same girl, and she  
felt so light and perfect in his arms. Of a kiss, so sweet, it was   
overwhelming. But Endymion was not to lose his resolve. Beryl had told  
him all he needed to know. Where to go, how to get there. What to do.   
If anyone got in his way, they'd be terminated.   
"Endy?" A soft voice called out from a dark corner. His eyes   
narrowed into suspicious slits, and he nearly growled under his breath,   
"Who's there?" A shadow stirred and a young girl, barely 16, it   
seemed, approached him.   
Suddenly, a tirade of memories seemed to crash into Endymion.   
Dreams of the past, a past that was now a future. He had to...   
"Serenity." Endymion embraced her, and the darkness fled from his  
body. He embraced her tightly, and Serenity gasped slightly.   
"Endy, ow..." Endymion released her only slightly, and smiled   
a smile so handsome...  
He leaned in briefly and kissed Serenity.   
"I thought... I thought we weren't..." Serenity murmured.   
"Weren't what?" Suddenly, Endymion realized that there was   
another one of *him* out there, one that would be longing for  
Serenity just as much as he was. A raging fear rose inside of him  
of things he knew to come, but without Sailor Moon's power, there  
was no way...  
"I think... I should talk to your mother."   
"W-What for?" Serenity asked, suddenly afraid. She was worried   
Endymion would be thinking with his head and not his heart again.   
She knew they both had to protect Earth, but at the stake of everyone's  
lives, there was no point! Couldn't they be happy together?  
"Don't worry, my little rabbit... it's nothing you need to worry  
about." Endymion didn't understand how he could be feeling the way he  
was around someone whom he had believed was a ruthless killer for so   
long.   
'She can't be... she's just...' Endymion was gripped by an   
undeniable fear and truth just then: that all that he had believed  
was a lie. There was truly only one way to hang onto his past, one  
way to make sure that all that happened stayed that way.   
"Let's... go to your chambers. There's something I need to ask  
you... in private." To add to his act, Endymion smiled sweetly, and  
looked around the courtyard carefully, to emphasize his need to be  
alone with Serenity.   
In truth, it was the only way he could see whether or not this  
child was casting a spell of sorts on him-- something that would  
prevent him from seeing through her obvious façade. He wanted to be  
away from any other factors-- people that might recognize him for  
what he wasn't, the other scouts, and so forth.   
'I have to hang on to MY past. Beryl-sama said this past was  
a fabrication of things. If I do as I was told, then maybe my  
kingdom will remain undestroyed.' But the way things were looking, he  
was a stranger in his own world, and no matter who he sided with, it'd  
make things worse.   
Endymion quietly led Serenity away, oblivious to the rippling   
of time all around them.   
  
**Back in the 20th Century...**  
  
"Rini!!" Serena stumbled, but as Darien was still supporting her,   
she fell into his arms. This time, the incident didn't cause her to   
blush. Instead, she stared at the empty space where Rini had been,   
and started crying hopelessly into Darien's shirt.   
"Oh god... this is all my fault..." Serena moaned between sobs.   
"Serena, don't say that... maybe... maybe we finally fixed time  
enough so that Rini could have gone home." Darien tried to sound   
hopeful, but not even he could forget the look of utter shock on  
Rini's face. She was terrified that she was being pulled out of this  
time, and she didn't seem to eager to go back.   
"You don't understand..." Serena whispered hoarsely, still   
clutching onto Darien's shirt. This time, she stared at him mournfully  
with tear-filled eyes.   
"What...?"   
"I never told you how this child... came to be." Serena murmured.   
Darien had long awaited the moment when she would tell him how he  
had become a father without ever making love to her, but his expression  
could not possibly show all that he was feeling.   
"I... we... Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion made love...   
back in the Silver Millenium. The day she found out, the peace was  
shattered. Both Queen Serenity and the Princess wished so much for  
peace and happiness that somehow, when my power level reached the  
same height as the princess's had been at that time, the child was  
placed in my body..." Serena tried to smile, but it easily slipped off  
her face.   
"I'm only 16, and I'm already going to be a mommy... but... how  
am I supposed to take care of child, when I have to save the world   
every night from certain doom?" Serena smiled wanely now, imagining  
that, after she gave birth, the attacks that had died down would come  
back ten-fold. The scouts would be destroyed.   
"Serena... how..." Darien didn't fully understand how Serena's  
explanation was true, but in an odd way, it made sense. It defied every  
natural law of science he knew, but this was Serena. She did that on  
a daily basis simply by *being*. He had had a hard time believing  
Dr. Cunningham when she had told him that the child was his. Yet, she  
hadn't seemed surprised when his reaction had been shock. She acted as  
though...  
'She knew something. She's...' Darien's expression changed to  
that of resolve, and he steadied his blossoming-with-life girlfriend  
and sat her down on the couch.   
"Sere, did you notice anything *strange* about Dr. Cunningham?"   
Darien asked seriously.   
"Dr... Laura? No, why? I mean..." Serena stuttered, her tears   
still falling in slow intervals.  
"I think... something is playing around with time, and someone  
who we don't suspect is at the heart of it all."   
"Laura...? But she's just a normal human!" Serena protested. But  
the moment those words fell from her lips, another internal voice  
spoke up, begging to differ. She *had* felt something about Dr.   
Cunningham, something that allowed her to trust her on a complete  
level. She had no suspicions, because the woman had an aura so much  
like...   
"Mother..." Serena murmured, her eyes becoming vacant and glassy.   
"What?!" Darien exclaimed, staring at Serena. He didn't quite  
understand what her reaction meant, but he had a feeling he knew where  
it was stemming from.   
"Q-Queen Serenity... we... we both wished so hard on the Silver  
Crystal that it chose both of our wishes. And deep inside, I wanted  
to keep the peace that we already had, more than anything," Serena   
spoke softly, as if she were truly the Princess of her past, "And  
so the crystal brought her back with us. All this time, and she  
never knew..." Serena smiled, brushing away her tears. Her mother--  
her REAL mother-- was alive! She felt as if she had just gained another  
family, but as this thought spread, her smile vanished once more.   
"She... she doesn't remember anything of the Silver Millenium   
though. She doesn't have any latent abilities that would affect the  
crystal, or..."   
"Something is wrong about her, Serena. Maybe she wasn't   
*supposed* to exist at all." Darien was grave, and he didn't want to  
add to Serena's pain by suggesting that another that she had lost and  
then found once again, had to remain lost. Rini was more precious to  
either of them than they tended to let on, especially to Serena. Her  
mother from her past life probably meant volumes to her, a link to  
a time she could never fully understand or grasp.   
And now she would lose that link again.   
"You're... you're right." Serena looked up. "This wasn't supposed  
to happen. This..." Serena waved at the growth on her belly and almost  
seemed disgusted, to Darien's unspoken and astute surprise.   
"*This* wasn't supposed to be, and we're still supposed to be   
broken up." She didn't know exactly how she knew this, but images,   
overlapping images, times crossing over and over in her mind, told her  
what she wanted to know.   
She saw the faces of four women, of the future, yet of a time  
that wasn't truly a time yet, and never would be.   
"Puu..." Serena murmured. She was trapped, and there was only   
one way to free everyone, and restore things the way they were.  
  
**The Space-Time Gate**  
  
"What a ride!" Lachesis murmured, swaying. She regained her   
composure immediately, however, and looked about the small room  
she had lived most of her immortal life in. It was empty.   
"Atropos?" Lachesis questioned. Outside of time, she couldn't  
have been affected by the time-space ripple, right? Whatever  
had caused it couldn't have...  
Lachesis's eyes settled on the loom, where a mass of string lay  
in a heap.   
"The Tapestry!! Pluto!" She exclaimed, fear filling her voice.   
Pluto seemed to appear out of nowhere, and she looked grim  
and almost desperate.   
"The Hall of Mirrors... everything is shattered, I can't tell  
what time it is outside of the Gate, and if we go out, then there's  
no telling *when* and *if* we'll ever get back in." Pluto shook  
her head.   
The time-space ripple that had caused all this damage didn't  
emanate from a particular thread of the tapestry, or a singular  
person in any time, with or without memories of a time long since  
deceased.   
"Clotho... she..." Pluto had seen parts of time in the shattered  
glass. Clotho falling into the inky waters of Lacus Somnorium, and the  
ripple of time that soared up from those waters the minute her life   
was claimed by its eternal magic.   
'How am I supposed to tell her that her sister is dead?' Pluto  
thought. It wasn't supposed to happen, Pluto thought harshly, and she  
couldn't DEAL with things that weren't supposed to happen. That  
was why she was the Guardian of Time. She had to make sure things  
went according to...  
"That's it!" Pluto exclaimed suddenly, an idea blossoming in her  
mind.   
"What?" Lachesis whispered, looking about for any signs of her   
sisters.   
"If a single event caused all this to happen, then that event is  
repeating itself over and over again, preventing us from returning  
to the point of time OUTSIDE of time when all this happened. The   
reality that we all know is *meant* to happen." Pluto explained. Since  
the knot grew steadily stronger over time, and the evil emanating from  
it was close to the *beginning* of the tapestry, then that meant the  
start of everything wasn't in the 20th century, as they first thought,   
but back in the Silver Millenium.   
"Beryl..." Lachesis seethed. Only she, the Queen of the   
Negaverse, could possibly find a way to breach time *again*, and   
destroy peace, which never seemed to have a chance whenever she was  
involved.   
"Exactly. We have to go to the Silver Millenium and find out  
what she's done."   
"No, Pluto." Lachesis tried to smile, but failed.   
"YOU have to go back. It's your time then, you know what to do.   
I left this place in the hopes that I could make a change for the  
better, and this is what happened." Pluto tried to explain how nothing  
that happened was possibly her fault, but Lachesis shushed her.   
"I have learned my lesson, and I'm staying here. Besides,"   
Lachesis smiled, the last of her tears running down her cheeks,   
"Someone has to welcome my sisters back when they reappear."   
Pluto smiled. Lachesis was completely right. She nodded curtly,   
and prayed to any and all kamis that she would succeed, because there  
was nothing more she wanted than to resolve all this, take a break,   
and watch as time unfolded the way it was meant to. It would mean  
hardships aplenty for the Scouts, but compared to the havoc  
of interlapping times, they'd rough through it somehow.   
'Small Lady...' Pluto remembered. Of all people, she was a key  
factor in this all, and unless she was born, and removed from her  
time to train, there'd be no way that anything could happen. Which  
meant, Pluto thought, setting her face in its most serious expression,   
that whatever Beryl had done to the Silver Millenium had to be undone.   
Now.   
  
**The Silver Millenium**  
  
"What was it you wanted to ask me, Endy?" Serenity smiled,  
blushing a faint pink as she sat down. She had a feeling that  
he was going to propose, and the very thought prevented her   
from meeting Enydmion's loving gaze.   
Endymion, on the other hand, was feeling more confused now  
than ever. He knew he wasn't supposed to be here. His Serena wasn't  
here, and this girl that seemed so adversely affected by his  
presence-- was meant to die. But how could he possibly stand there on  
the sidelines and watch a horrible future come true again? Now that  
he had control of the darkness that had once been inside him, he  
could prevent all the damage done by Beryl in this time.   
Something was still nagging at him, though, and he wasn't quite  
sure what to do about it.   
People would die, be reborn, and new children would be born.   
So many things would stem from the end of the Silver Millenium, good  
and bad, and Endymion-- no, Darien-- knew, deep inside, that there  
was no way to tell if, by letting the Silver Millenium happen, it  
would ensure the future's peace.   
  
Outside, in a darkened hallway, a gathering of magenta light  
shone. No one saw it, because everyone knew that to trespass in   
the Hall of Time sealed your fate-- literally.   
Nearby, in the Royal Throneroom, Queen Serenity started. She  
looked up from the tactical plans she was going over and walked to  
the door. She opened it with a sad smile even before the person on  
the other side knocked.   
"Old friend... what ARE you doing here?" Queen Serenity attempted  
to smile at Sailor Pluto, but she knew that if the Guardian of Time  
was here, then something very wrong was about to happen. Or had   
happened. Or was happening at this very moment.   
'I never did understand Temporal Mechanics...' Serenity sighed,   
closing the door behind the tall sailor.   
"Queen Serenity..." Pluto began, but trailed off. How to tell  
someone, an old, dear, friend, no less, that her time was about to  
be destroyed, and she just had to sit there and watch?  
"I have a feeling, Pluto... that something bad is about to  
happen." Queen Serenity sighed, brushing aside the plans she had  
laid out. The Earth Kingdom was formidable, but with Endymion here...   
"Don't kill the messenger." Pluto tried to smile. She was never  
good at humoring people when it came to their destruction. Pluto  
sighed. This was in her job desription: be straightforward, blunt,   
and brutal whenever necessary.   
"Something is off about this time. I myself have sensed a bit  
of it, but your presence confirms it."   
"I suppose it does..." Pluto sighed once more. "Someone from  
the distant future had come to this time with the intentions of  
destroying it. In such a manner that it will completely affect the  
future, and cause... a feedback loop of sorts."   
"Pluto, talk to me like I'm a third grader. My mother never  
understood why I was the only Princess who never understood  
temporal mechanics." Serenity sighed, bracing herself mentally.   
"Not the only one," Pluto mumbled. She sweatdropped when Serenity  
looked at her with a raised eyebrow and continued, "In any case,   
this person... well, we really need to find the Princess. Right now."   
Pluto finished, not wanting and partially unable to discern who  
the perpetrator was. She herself didn't want to think that her future  
King could be responsible for mass murder, but...  
  
"Majesty!" A voice exclaimed from the other side of the door.   
The two women within looked up sharply. No one could possibly know   
Pluto was here, so that meant that whatever was causing this time  
period to repeat and make everything else go haywire was already  
happening.   
"Prince Endymion requests an audience with you, Majesty,"  
The voice continued, not hearing a response. "He says it  
is urgent." Pluto looked up from the tactical plans Serenity had  
strewn about everywhere, and let her vision penetrate the door.  
She immediately realized why things were going haywire: it wasn't  
even Beryl's fault, Pluto almost laughed. Endymion --Darien-- had  
been sent from the past-- which was the future at this moment, with  
the mission to disturb the past, and bend it to Beryl's will. He  
had met Serenity, and their love for each other was so deep, that  
he remembered his TRUE past, and was unable to carry through with  
his plans.   
"Pluto, should you be seen?" Queen Serenity asked worriedly,   
in a hushed tone. Pluto shot Serenity a grave look that told the  
distressed Queen everything she needed to know: Endymion was the one.   
  
"Majest--" Endymion, who had just recieved permission from the  
Guard and Queen Serenity to enter, stopped on sight of Pluto. He  
stared at her a moment and then dropped to one knee.   
"Pluto-sama." Pluto started. If this Endym-- er, Darien... well,   
whoever he was, was from the 20th century, before Rini came to the   
past... or the future...   
'Now *I'm* getting confused...' Pluto grumbled to herself.   
"You... were here, at the end of this time. You know what will  
happen." Endymion said, rising, but not meeting Pluto's gaze.   
"Pluto... how does...?" Serenity began, looking back and forth   
between the two in confusion.   
"Serenity, this... 'Endymion' is not supposed to be here now.   
He is meant to be in the future." Pluto explained. Endymion nodded.   
"Actually, if I stay here now, then the Endymion of *this* time  
may be affected. I have to find a way back to the Dark Kingdom."   
Endymion said gravely.   
"The Dark Kingdom!? What in the--" Serenity spluttered,   
astonished that her daughter's betrothed had anything to do with  
the forces of Darkness.   
"If I tried to explain it all now, Highness, then this time  
would be affected *again*," Pluto tried to explain, exasperated.   
She never thought she'd tire of being the Guardian of Time. This  
was the first incident in a long while that had caused her to  
exit the Space-Time Warm, and right now, there was nothing more  
she wanted than to be back there in the nothingness of time,   
with a cup of hot green tea.   
"Again?" Endymion asked, confused now. He didn't want to reveal  
too much about the future: from what he knew, if even a person of  
the past OVERHEARD about the future, they could subconsciously change  
it.   
Pluto wondered just how much she could tell, considering this  
time wouldn't even exist if they managed to fix things. Now that  
she thought about it, it might be rather helpful to have Endymion  
serve as a middleman. It'd be unfortunate, because he, like the others,   
would end up destroyed, but...  
'The needs of the many...' Pluto gritted to herself, chanting the  
words over and over in her head. It was ethics!  
"In this time, Queen Beryl intends to attack the Moon Kingdom and  
destroy it. She uses the inhabitants of Earth to do the work for her,   
and millions die." Pluto said bluntly. Serenity looked shocked, and  
stumbled as she grasped onto a chair for support.   
Endymion looked ready to help her, but he too, looked as though  
he knew there was no way around this. He had seen this all first hand,  
had been killed by...   
"I can... seal them away, with the Silver Imperium Crystal."   
Serenity whispered, her eyes lighting on the shining wand and gem in  
the corner of the room.   
"You know what that would do, Highness." Endymion said grimly.   
"And it is what MUST be done. Things have to end here, now, or  
somehow, the future will cease to exist, because the past will be  
stuck in a continual cycle of repeat." Pluto mumured.   
"So the event that caused me to even come here hasn't happened  
yet?" Endymion wondered aloud.   
"Precisely. Provided you simply go *back* to the Dark Kingdom,   
then this time will be stable once more. This time's Endymion won't  
be able to do anything, and the future will be secured."   
"*Do* anything?" Serenity raised an eyebrow in question, and  
both Endymion and Pluto averted their gazes away from the Queen.   
Endymion's face turned a scarlet shade-- although he didn't remember  
what he had done-- or would do-- or wouldn't do, as the case was,   
he had a very good idea, judging from Pluto's tone of voice.   
"Ahem. Queen, I had to let you know... you must keep Serenity  
and Endymion apart at all costs." Pluto finished, a note of sadness  
in her voice. It pained her to separate her favorite charge from  
her beloved, her future King, but it had to be done until they  
could send THIS Endymion back to his proper time in the 20th century.   
They'd have to figure things out from there.   
  
"I..." Endymion started, looking very sheepish, even in his   
regal attire and armor, "I already had contact with Serenity." He  
managed. "It was the only way I remembered who I really was. If  
I go back to the Dark Kingdom, I have to either pretend I completed  
my mission and it hasn't yet taken its effects on it, or I can  
get brainwashed all over again." Endymion sighed almost releuctantly.   
As soft as a wind blowing, he murmured a name: "Serena..."   
"I told her to stay in her room while I talked to you, Highness.  
She thinks I'm asking for her hand in marriage."   
"Too late..." Pluto murmured, looking away. Queen Serenity almost  
laughed aloud.   
"Yes, Pluto is right, Endy-- er... whoever you are. The *other*  
Prince Endymion is here tonight to formally announce his engagement  
to Serenity."   
"Which means we're running out of time."   
"You HAD to say THAT, didn't you?!" Pluto cried, at her wit's end.  
"You need a vacation, don't you?" Serenity smiled. Pluto nodded  
vigorously.   
"In fact, I need to STOP time for a while and..." The joke   
fell deaf on the ears of Endymion and Serenity, who both knew that  
stopping time would cause her death.   
"I'd never actually do that, though." Pluto grinned.   
"In any case," She continued, "We have to get you back to your   
time. Whatever you do, as long as you're not here, then things should  
go right." Pluto said.   
"Oh sure, blame the Prince." Endymion grumbled.   
"I do blame you, Darien. You have caused me QUITE a lot of   
stress." Pluto grumbled under her breath. She laughed mentally as she  
imagined the 20th century Darien trying to deal with Rini even before  
he had his preminitory dreams.   
"Yeah, yeah." Darien grumbled. He straightened himself out   
again, having the air of the prince he resembled so closely.  
"Well, I have to go and act like a prince now." He was about  
to go to the door when Pluto hooked her staff onto the back of  
his chest-armor.   
"Hold it, Cape Boy." Darien grimaced, remembering the last battle  
he had had with Zoisite, when the witch had trapped Serena and himself  
in an elevator. She'd called Darien that right after Serena had   
revealed her identity to him.   
'I need to go back and see her... I can't let Beryl destroy the  
peace Queen Serenity worked so hard to attain...' Darien knew that if   
he tried to change *this* time any further than he already had, then  
he would also be affected, perhaps even disappear. He couldn't take  
the chance that the cure would be worse than the disease, as it was.   
"All right." Darien sighed. He agreed to remain hidden from  
Serenity, while Pluto and the Queen had to keep the real Prince from  
doing anything with the Princess.   
'I can't believe I was that daring.' Darien groaned to himself,   
sitting in the empty room and trying to think of how he'd pull off  
being evil once he got back to the Dark Kingdom.   
  
"Endymion!" Queen Serenity was glad she was the first to find   
the Prince, and he immediately bowed respectfully as the Queen   
approached him.   
"Now now, Prince, we have some urgent matters to attend to."   
"Majesty?" Endymion was perplexed as the seemingly hyperactive  
queen led him away to her audience chambers.   
Not at all surprised that Pluto was already there and waiting,   
Serenity allowed Endymion in.   
"Pl-Pluto-sama!" Endymion bowed deeply, but didn't meet the  
Guardian of Time's gaze. In the pit of his stomach, a fear rose.   
Serenity -his princess, that is- had told him about the green-haired,   
magenta-eyed Guardian, solitary and dark, with the power to create  
or destroy.   
"Endymion, I'm afraid I have some bad news."   
Pluto's eyes alighted with the characteristic lightbulb-over-head  
look, and she whispered something to Serenity.   
"We can still keep this time intact, provided we get the other   
Endymion back before *this* Endymion announced his engagement." Pluto  
explained. She wasn't quite sure how she'd do it, but as long as Darien  
was back in the Dark Kingdom, all would be well... right?   
"Ahem. Yes, Endymion, you have to postpone your announcement for  
maybe another hour." Serenity smiled, making it seem like the news she  
was delivering was something akin to the end of the world. Truthfully,  
that's what it was-- she was telling Endymion to hold off on his  
announcement so the end of the Silver Millenium could come about  
as foreseen by Pluto.   
"I've waited almost a year now, Majesty, I think I can wait  
another hour." He smiled. Serenity tried to smile back, but   
found herself unable to manage anything beyond a slight turning  
of the corners of her lips.   
  
"Uhm, you wait here." Pluto said, smiling down at the Prince.   
He refused to meet her gaze. Pluto remembered the first time they  
HAD looked at each other, and it was supposed to happen only hours  
from now.   
Pluto rushed to the room where the OTHER Endymion --Darien--   
awaited.   
"Well?" He asked, looking bored and a bit apprehensive. Pluto  
nodded to him grimly.   
"Let's do this."   
Pluto swung her staff in the air, the Garnet Orb glowing bright magenta  
as its power united and diverged, forming ribbons within the affected  
time surrounding them.   
"Have the strength to save her, Darien. In the future, you'll   
need it." Those words were the last Darien heard before he was  
transported back to the blackness of the Dark Kingdom.   
  
"I hope this thing finally worked." Pluto said, tapping her now  
silent staff. She hoped that, with the realization of the events that  
occurred in this time that affected all the other times, things HERE  
would start following their true path of destiny automatically.   
Maybe then, Rini would reappear, Serena would no longer be   
pregnant, and everything would be as tiem laid it out for the Sailor  
Scouts.   
The swirling of the time seemed to be far less rough than it   
had before, and Pluto knew it. Things were starting to shape back  
the way she knew they were supposed to be. In one hour, she'd have  
to be here as a Princess and friend of her Majesty, Princess Serenity.   
She walked into the rarely-used chambers of Pluto within the palace,   
and changed into her silk-and-satin black gown.   
  
At the stroke of 9:00, Lunar Time, the largest group of people  
ever known to attend a Lunar event stood in the great Audience Hall.   
The Queen herself, with her daughter, would make an announcement  
said to change the future of the alliances within the Sol System.   
People were murmuring, guessing, starting and spreading  
rumors. The Princesses that Guarded Her Majesty were being tightlipped  
as usual, so the rumors kept on spreading.   
Perhaps the two Princesses of Uranus and Neptune were  
finally marrying? But their duty was greater to the solar system, the  
fringes of the zone of peace within which they all lived and took  
for granted. No, they wouldn't be able to, not yet, until the  
entire system's peace was secured. That was the price of being a  
Soldier; you had to put the future of your Princess, her planets,   
their Princesses, and their people, ahead of yourself.   
No, maybe, just maybe Princess Mercury was getting married?  
Or maybe some royal from afar had sought the hand of Princess  
Serenity?   
People continued speculating late into the night, when the  
announcement was finally made.   
  
"Her Royal Majesty, Queen Serenity!" The room clapped loudly  
as the Queen descended from the spiraling staircase near the top of  
the room.   
On a dais decorated with silver mouldings and fine artwork,   
the Queen stood. Pleasantly smiling despite what she knew, she  
spoke.   
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the Court. I am very  
pleased tonight to be announcing the formal engagement of my  
own daughter to the Prince of one of the neighboring planets. This  
engagement is approved by both parties, as well as the Royal Family  
of the other planet."  
Queen Serenity paused, and noted with a smile how everyone  
seemed to be on edge, wondering who the mysterious Prince was.   
"Introducing, my daughter, and her fiancee..."   
Serenity walked out with Prince Endymion on her arm, both  
blushing lightly, but walking with the royal air that belonged  
to them.   
Gasps, giggles and groans filled the air.   
"Shucks!" A female voice sounded out as the better half of the  
female populous within the room realized now that Endymion was  
officially taken.   
"YAY!!" The four soldiers that guarded Serenity burst out  
in grand laughter and excited giggles.   
"Eh...?" Serenity blinked at them.   
"You know how long we haven't been able to say a word to  
our people, without being afraid of blurting out your little  
secret! YES!!!" Mars was jumping excitedly with Venus and  
Jupiter, while Merucury was shaking her head.   
"So Mercury is still free!?" A male voice called out from  
the audience. The three delighted soldiers turned on the blue-haired  
scout with malicious glee in their eyes, and the aformentioned   
scout blushed as red as Mars' skirt.   
  
Pluto, standing in the far back of the room, where no one   
else was, smiled. She looked at Serenity, at Queen Serenity,   
and then at Endymion. He still had a ways to go before he  
was truly worthy of Serenity and the power she offered, as well  
as the strength he needed to protect her so she'd be able to  
tap into that power in the first place.   
He magenta eyes shone with true happiness for once, being  
able to see people happy, no matter what the end result of  
all this would be.   
Endymion suddenly turned to her, and even from so far away,   
met her gaze. Realizing just who she was, he paled a bit, but then  
smiled. He had a feeling he wouldn't see her again for a very   
long time, but he knew that she was trying her best to keep him  
and his beloved Serenity together.   
'Thank you, Pluto.' He thought to himself, turning back  
to the throng of people congratulating himself and the princess.  
People on the moon were much more welcoming of this engagement  
than those on Earth, so he relished the attention now. When he  
turned back to face where Pluto had been minutes before, she was  
gone.   
'You're welcome, Prince.' Pluto's voice echoed in his head.   
  
**In The Dark Kingdom**  
  
"Endymion. Have you completed your task?" Beryl asked of  
the kneeling Prince before her. He had returned rather quickly,  
but Beryl assumed that was because he was-- Beryl smirked evilly,  
thinking of the now-ruined Princess-- efficent.  
At first, something had stuck her as off, but then, traveling  
through time could do that to a person. Perhaps she should just  
put him through the memory erase once more, just to be safe.   
"Yes, Queen Beryl. The effects of it may not have started yet...  
as the time was so long ago."   
Queen Beryl was about to nod her agreement with that when  
suddenly, a great wave of magenta light tore through the court.   
Endymion --Darien-- smiled as the world around him was both destroyed  
and restored to the way it was meant to be.   
  
**Back in the Time Warp**  
  
"Clotho!" Lachesis grinned as her younger sister reappered in  
front of her, soaking wet, but still there. The wave of magenta  
light flooded the room, causing Atropos to reappear, the Tapestry  
to reform, and the knot to be gone.   
The glass shards within the Hall of Mirrors floated back up into   
their proper frames, the crack lines disappearing like ripples in   
water.  
"Atropos!" Clotho embraced both her sisters and then smiled  
apologetically.   
"I'm sorry, I never should have..." She stopped. She shook her  
head in confusion a moment and then blinked up at her sisters.   
"What was I saying?"   
  
**The 20th Century**  
  
The magenta light was slowly encompassing all of Earth, all  
of the other planets, restoring everything within time and space  
to its original time. It was draining to Pluto, and tedious, as the  
process took a good deal of time, but it was working. Finally, the  
events of the 20th century were coming together and forming  
up properly.   
  
**Crystal Tokyo**  
  
"Mommy!" Rini cried out. Explosions were everywhere, and  
the Scouts had disappeared in the fray. All Rini remembered  
was taking the crystal, and then seeing a bright flash of light.   
Her mother had called her name, and after that, everything went  
bad.   
Rini ran down the halls of the palace, to the one room  
where she found solace and company.   
"PUU!"   
Pluto turned, startled to see the rabbit-haired source  
of the voice. This was a sure sign that things were working  
out right.   
Rini rushed towards her and began sobbing into her leg.   
"Mommy... she..." Rini sobbed.   
"Calm down, Small Lady," Pluto soothed, knowing her part  
as if she had rehearsed it. In a way, she had. The words she  
spoke were so familiar to her, they may have been lines in a  
scipt.   
"I have to save Mommy! Those bad people from the Negamoon...  
they, they did something to her!"   
"Small Lady, you must go to the past and get the help of  
Sailor Moon, do you understand?"   
"S-sailor Moon? You mean she's real, Puu?" Pluto smiled.   
"Yes, Small Lady. But in the past only. You must find her,   
and the Silver Crystal. Only then can you save your mother."   
Pluto handed Rini a small, golden key resembling the orb  
atop Pluto's staff.   
  
"This crystal key will take you back in time to where you  
need to go. When you have the Crystal and Sailor Moon, come back  
here, okay? Just remember, don't bring anyone else, or you may   
affect your time. And use the key wisely, it can be dangerous  
if you use it too often."   
Rini nodded, and with a determined look on her face, thrust  
the key up in the air and vanished in a cloud of pink light and haze.   
---------------------------------------------------------------------  
The end of Part 9. Woo... that took me a while. This is pretty darn   
long, don't you think? ^^; Well, this isn't a full blown conclusion  
to O16. No, there IS a part 10. No epilogue, I don't think, unless it's  
widely requested. I'll try working harder and faster on 10 so it has  
the ending I was aiming for. But everyone pretty much knows how it's  
going to end, right?   
If you don't well...   
^^; I will tell you this much-- you haven't seen the last of Dr.   
Cunningham!  
Sorry if I confused anyone with flashbacks and whatnot. Stay tuned  
for Part 10, at last, at last-- [Death, Rebirth, and Birth]  
EMAIL ME! sailor_andromida@yahoo.com // azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
  



	14. Part 10: Death, Birth, and Rebirth

Title: Only 16  
Part: 10/10 : Death, Rebirth, And Birth  
By: Azurite  
PG-PG13  
azurite_moon@yahoo.com  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida  
http://www.geocities.com/sailor_azurite  
I do not own Sailormoon. But you knew that.   
  
By the way, what I meant by 'you haven't seen the  
last of Dr. Cunningham' is that she's Queen Serenity's  
reincarnate. But you knew that... you read Part 9.  
If this makes no sense to you, go back and read it   
again!!  
  
Should I keep you waiting? Are you even reading this?  
Probably not. Oh well... you wanna read part 10?   
Okay... here you are...  
BTW! I think I'll make a last-ditch parody of O16...  
I wonder what it'll be about (a'la Fushigi Akugi,  
for any FY fans out there... ^^)  
ONWARDS!  
**********************************************************  
  
**Crystal Tokyo**  
  
King Endymion shook his head. It was as if he'd   
had a sudden headache, but it had vanished as quickly as  
it had come.   
'Impossible...' Endymion shuffled quickly through  
the silent and dark palace to his love's side. Still  
encased in crystal, still silent, still... sleeping.   
His own body injured to the point of being dormant,   
now forced to endure this silent darkness in a holographic  
form.  
Not even Rini was here, a disturbing thought. No doubt  
she had gotten separated from the Scouts, then met up with  
Pluto... she was now in the 20th century... where she  
was supposed to be.   
Right...?   
  
*Why* did he have any doubts? He knew everything that  
was supposed to happen. He knew he'd have to give his past  
self horrid dreams of a future that wouldn't come, unless...  
"Could the Negamoon have disrupted time so much...?"  
Endymion stepped over a thin pile of debris. For the few minutes  
Serenity had been out of the palace, looking for Rini, the  
Negamoon had gotten some damage in. After Serenity had gotten  
sealed in the crystal, to prevent any injury from the blast,   
the Scouts had split up to the nearest Crystal Point, and channeled  
their powers to erect a shield. So far, it had worked, but the girls  
would slowly be draining themselves. Within a week, they'd  
collapse from exhaustion.   
But the Scouts from the past were to come by then. It was  
his only comfort, knowing that soon, he'd see his beloved again.   
But there was an emptiness beyond that. He felt as if there was  
something he should know, something...  
  
Endymion unconsciously ran his fingers over the main computer  
once he reached it. It took some time, but that was to be expected,  
what with the power being diverted to more necessary shields.   
The screen flashed on, files flying by Endymion's critical  
gaze. He hadn't known what he had touched, but soon a string of  
numbers and characters blinked on the screen... then it went black.  
"What...?"  
In a moment, the screen flashed on once more, and Endymion  
-had he been a breathing specimen and not a hologram- would have  
gasped in surprise. On the screen was the face of his wife's mother--  
the first Queen Serenity.   
====================================================================  
  
**20th Century**  
  
"Hey, get back here you little spore!" Serena cried, dashing  
after Rini. The small pink-haired brat was nothing but trouble.  
She'd showed up only hours before, ruining her perfectly good date with  
Darien. Then she went home and found her room trashed. Not by Sammy,  
as she originally suspected, but RINI! Her... cousin?  
She hadn't believed it at first either, but then... there were  
so many pictures. How...   
  
Serena shook her head and blinked.   
"Oh man... she's gone!" Serena groaned.  
"You better go after her, Serena," Luna's voice called from   
behind the blonde. Serena turned to her feline advisor with a   
disdainful frown on her face.  
"Why should I, Luna? She's causing trouble, brainwashing  
my family, and bugging me for the crystal. I don't want any  
responsibility for the little spore at all." Serena huffed, crossing  
her arms.   
"That's exactly why you have to go after her, Serena! She  
might know something about the crystal, in which case she could  
be an enemy!"  
"Luna, you thought *Amy* was an enemy the first time we  
met her!" Serena groaned.  
"So now you're defending 'the little spore' are you?"  
Luna countered, raising a furry eyebrow.  
Serena stared blankly at Luna, then frowned.   
"Fine! I'll go after her!"  
  
With a frown, Serena tore off down the street. For once,  
her mind was occupied with the pink brat. Darien had said  
she could be from the Silver Millenium, Luna thought she was  
an enemy. She *did* know about the crystal, but why did she  
want it?   
Why did enemies have to get weirder and weird--  
  
"Oof!" Serena rubbed her nose as she sat up,   
staring at whoever she had the misfortune to bump into.  
'Man, I'm such a clutz...'   
"I'm sorry..." Serena stared at the woman in surprise.  
The voice was oddly familiar, like...  
'But it can't be...' Serena shook her head and took  
the woman's proffered hand.  
Standing up at her full height, Serena was a few inches  
shorter than the foriegner before her. However, her voice was  
perfectly accented, as if she was a native Japanese. Her voice  
was so...  
"I'm Laura. Laura Cunningham. I'm very sorry for bumping  
into you like that, Miss..."   
"Serena. Serena Tsukino. It's very nice to meet you."  
  
Serena didn't know why she felt this strange... strangeness  
about this woman, but she did. Remembering back to the various  
humans that had gotten used as pawns for the Negaverse, Serena  
decided to follow her gut and stick with this woman. She could  
be an enemy.   
After all, if Rini was here for the crystal, that meant that  
either the spore was an enemy... or she needed help, and some *other*  
enemy was after the crystal!  
  
'Geez, Luna oughta commend me for all this deduction I'm doing,'  
Serena thought to herself as she walked along with Laura.   
  
"I'm sorry... you seem awfully familiar to me." Laura smiled, her  
eyebrows furrowed as if trying to remember a past event.  
Serena let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in the  
form of a gasp. Laura's gaze suddenly became wide, as if she were   
coming upon a realization.   
  
They'd stopped walking by now, Serena's surprise that someone   
whom *she'd* thought as familiar returned the feeling. But Laura  
didn't speak.   
"Ms. Cunningham?" Serena asked quizically, staring at the older  
woman.   
  
"I..." Laura trailed off, and her vacant eyes cleared. She shook  
her head once and smiled.   
"It couldn't be." The two started walking again in a strange sort  
of silence; Laura not asking Serena why they were walking together and  
Serena keeping her suspicions -and concern- silent.   
*What* couldn't be? Her? Was there something about her that...  
  
'Maybe my first idea was right,' Serena thought, her face grim.   
Maybe the spore had partners in crime, or her mom... maybe that was it!  
Maybe Laura was Rini's mom!   
'But Darien and everyone else seems to think she looks like me.   
I just don't get it. If Rini *isn't* an enemy, and Laura isn't related  
to her at all, then... what is this *feeling* I'm getting from her?'   
  
It was sort of like deja vu, only the kind you got after a dream.   
You could remember bits and pieces, maybe a feeling or a vision here  
and there... but everything was just too choppy and hard to make out.   
  
'I know you from somewhere, Serena. But where? You couldn't be  
the girl from my dream! That was so long ago...' Laura's mind was   
whirling. She thought that, at first, Serena might have been one of the  
girls from the clinic, a teen mother.   
But Laura remembered each and every one of her patients, and   
Serena just wasn't one of them. More over, she was far too young--  
not that teen mothers her age were nonexistant; they were just rare.   
  
The two soon struck up a conversation to make up for the silence,  
and the topic of where Serena went to school came up.   
"Crossroads? I went there for a year or so." Laura smiled.   
"Really? That's cool. I like it because I have two friends there,  
Amy and Lita, and even though they're in different classes, it's still  
fun to hang out with them at lunch and all."   
  
'Amy... and Lita...?'   
  
Laura had once again, stopped walking, this time, leaving  
Serena a good yard in front of the older woman.   
It was just too coincidental for Laura to handle, and she   
kept on seeing faces, hearing these names... wondering... if   
it wasn't just a dream after all.   
  
"Serena," Laura smiled brightly, regaining her composure,   
"Would you like to go for a cup of coffee or something?"   
Serena paused a moment and smiled back, the gears in her head  
turning.   
Was Laura an enemy or friend?  
What was this weird feeling of deja vu?  
What did Laura feel about her that "couldn't be"?  
Too many questions, not enough answers.   
  
'I'm not about to give up the chance to prove to everyone  
that I can solve a mystery when it lands in my lap! If Laura  
is an enemy...' Serena didn't want the woman to be. She seemed  
nice, and the feeling she had wasn't dangerous or alarming in  
any way.   
'If she *is* an enemy, she's dust!'   
  
Serena's thoughts remained her own as the twosome entered  
the nearby Crown Parlor, and ordered up a milkshake and a  
cinnamon espresso.  
"Serena, what I'm about to tell you is very strange...  
but I feel that we've met before, and not... not here."   
"You mean before now?" Serena asked quizically.   
"No, before here. Before this time."  
  
That was the sentence that threw Serena off. Time!  
Rini was supposedly from the future, right? Whether or not  
Laura was related to Rini in any way, it seemed to be that  
everything linked back to Time! Rini from the future, and  
Laura... from... the past?  
"It couldn't be..." Serena murmured, echoing Laura's  
previous whisper.   
"Then... then do you feel it too? A very odd deja--"  
  
Laura's sentence was cut off as the glass window behind   
them was shattered.   
Hovering in the air above the debris was a woman with   
alabaster-like skin, violet hair, and a strange looking   
jumpsuit-tutu combination in shades of pink and violet.   
"Where's the Silver Imperium Crystal!?" She demanded,   
staring straight at Serena and Laura.  
  
Laura gasped audibly, and the high-heeled foe turned on  
her immediately.   
With an inhuman strength and odd magic, she hoisted   
Laura in the air-- without lifting a finger! Serena was trapped  
between the booth and the enemy, whose forehead bore a strange  
sigil-- that of an downturned, black crescent moon.   
She couldn't possibly transform... not only would it  
give the whereabouts of the crystal away, but it was   
dangerous to do so when Laura was captured.  
  
"You let her go this minute!" Serena cried, standing.  
This woman may be a stranger, maybe even crazy...  
'Aren't we all a little crazy?' Serena thought, gritting  
her teeth. Regardless, she was an innocent, and shouldn't be  
the target, especially when she didn't have the crystal.   
  
"Are you talking to me?" The pink-and-violet woman asked  
with a sneer becoming her scarlet lips. Her violet eyes narrowed,  
a strange fire seeming to reflect in them.   
Serena felt another odd feeling in this woman, but one that  
spoke volumes of pain and danger.   
"Yeah I am, you fashion freak! LET HER GO!"  
"How dare you! My name is Catsy of the Negamoon, and you--"  
Catsy released Laura, who slumped to the floor, devoid of energy,   
"Are dead!" Catsy hovered in the air, bright bolts of electric  
blue energy hurling from her palms.   
  
"DARK FIRE!"   
'I have no choice...' Serena looked desperately at the people  
attempting to flee, being trapped inside by a red and violet barrier.  
She gripped her locket tightly, with the full intention of   
transforming, but something stopped her, and it wasn't the barrage of  
Dark Fire.   
For the most part, she avoided the sharp pangs of fire using  
what little gymnastics tricks she picked up over the years -and from  
gym, of course.   
  
"Hold it right there!" A chorus of voices sounded. Serena didn't  
even need to turn to know that her friends had arrived.   
Catsy frowned at the sight of the four Scouts, surrounding her   
tactically on all four sides.   
"Droid Papillion!" Catsy thrust a hand in the air, and suddenly  
a dark and monstrous form appeared.   
  
With a vicious gleam in her eyes, Catsy smirked, "Have fun,   
Scouts." She vanished in a flash of black light, from wherever she had  
come from.   
"Pa-pi-ron!" The droid yelled, coalescing into a form that was  
vaguely human.   
  
Catsy's barrier had vanished from the door, and people were   
attempting now to flee in masses. However, the moment they got the door  
open, they were attacked by a barrage of butterflies that were...   
flaming?  
"What the heck?!" Jupiter exclaimed, moving closer to Serena.   
The other girls followed suit, providing a handy escape route for  
the pigtailed girl to run and transform elsewhere.   
  
"Uh-uh-uh..." The droid -a pale girl with violet hair and  
butterfly wings, in addition to a skimpy outfit, hurled a fireball  
at the escaping Serena.   
It never hit.   
  
"Laura!" Serena screamed, watching the older woman fall.   
The blonde fell to her knees as the woman fell to the ground,  
a strange fire-like energy smoking its way through her body.  
"Let's get that witch!" Jupiter and Venus exclaimed together,  
charging the surprised Papillion.  
  
Meanwhile, Serena was crying. Laura was an innocent woman,  
probably with a family, and...   
"Serena... don't cry..." Laura whispered.   
"Why...?" Serena sobbed, wishing they had a Scout who could  
heal, who could prevent this hurt.   
"My... Serenity... I've found... you... at last..." Laura  
murmured, her fingertips brushing away Serena's bangs, where  
the faint outline of a crescent moon could be seen, if one were  
observant enough.   
  
"Ma-Mama?" Serena stared in shock as Laura collapsed in her  
arms, lifeless and pale. Her body was still warm from the flame  
blasy meant for Serena, still charred on her sweater.   
But dead.   
  
Serena couldn't think anymore. She barely resgistered the scream  
of Papillion as the droid was, amazingly destroyed in one blast from  
Venus and Mars.   
The people that had been trying to flee the Parlor and Arcade  
suddenly fell through the doorway, the barrier of flaming insects  
having been removed by the destruction of Papillion.   
  
Suddenly, a bright white light filled the room, the area,   
the entire city, bathing it in a blinding purity.   
"Mom? Mama?" Serena murmured, her head in her hands. Tears   
escaped down her fingertips, seeing images of a past she had  
tried hard to forget.  
"Serena... Serena..." The voice was a whisper and first,  
and then, slowly, it registered higher on the decibel scale.   
A whisper, a murmur... a word.   
  
Serena managed to look up from her misery, her aching heart,  
and her immense guilt. It all weighed on her like a boulder on  
her back. She could have transformed, could have...  
"Don't think like that Serena."   
Before Serena was the same fairy-like projection of her mother  
from so long ago.  
  
"Q-Que..." Serena started, hiccoughing.   
"Mother. I am your mother, Serena. I love you, that's why I..."  
Queen Serenity trailed off, her image becoming the life-size Laura  
Serena had been speaking to only moments before.   
"I used to have dreams, dreams of a place that was peaceful and  
happy. Of a daughter that was a Princess, and had fallen in love  
with a Prince. But that all ended horribly, and I wanted more than   
nothing to see what happened to everyone. To my daughter, to her Love,  
to her friends, the other Princesses... Amy, Lita, Raye, and Mina."   
"W..What...?" Serena sniffled and tried to catch her breath.   
  
"That's what I had been trying to say, Serena. I didn't believe  
that my dreams were real, that you... *Serenity* were real. But you   
are. And you're everything... no, even *more* than I hoped for."  
"Mama... you got... you were reborn... but how...?"   
"I suppose we both wished, more than anything, to see that   
peaceful time again. In order for Luna and Artemis to awaken, for  
Mina to have recieved my assistance when she was Sailor V... I  
had to lose those precious memories of you, just as you did for  
the first fourteen years of your life. But I had dreams.   
Precious dreams of you, of the girls... of Endymion. But I  
think that, when I made that wish, I disrupted time as I knew it  
was supposed to be... the way it was *destined* to be."  
  
"But!" Serena protested, hoping in her heart of hearts that  
somehow, she could bring her mother... bring LAURA back!  
"I wasn't meant to be, Serena. Not in this body, not in this  
time. Another soul, with a greater purpose, needs to occupy this  
body, and live life to the fullest. I lived and died for you  
Serena, because I love you, and want you to see the happy future  
that I couldn't make."   
"But I want *you* to see the future you sacrificed so much  
for!"  
"Serena... always thinking of others. Both of us have to make  
sacrifices in our lives, sometimes very painful and difficult ones.  
But overall, those hardest decisions to make, those bigger sacrifices  
are what keep the peace for so long in the future. You are the one  
who is meant to see a happy future, because the life you started to  
live back then... in those happy times... was cut far too short.   
You must be the one to live on, to learn, to love..."  
Laura -Queen Serenity- began to snap and crackle, fading out  
as if she were a mere mirage.   
  
"MOM!"   
"I'm so happy... I could see you... one last time..."  
And then Laura vanished.   
Serena stared into the whiteness, tears dampening her  
cheeks and staining dark circles of water onto her skirt.   
"It's not fair... why does destiny have to be so sad  
and repetitive!?"   
  
"It doesn't." At this new, unfamiliar voice, Serena  
stood, and readied herself.   
From the whiteness, the mists, and the fog of dreams,  
came a quartet of young women of varying ages and heights.  
  
One, closer to Serena's age than any of the others,   
wore a pinkish sailor suit, complementing her silver-white  
hair. Another, with dark violet hair, wore a lavender  
suit adorned with sideways 8s here and there-- the Infinity  
sigil, Serena recognized, subconsciously.   
The last two were far older, both in appearance, and  
their spirit. Their aura, the wise, timeless age in their  
eyes was reflected back at Serena, and she felt riveted  
to stay and listen-- not to fight.   
  
They were on either side of the pink and purple Soldiers,  
one in black and maroon, with a cascade of dark green hair falling  
over her Sailorsuit to her calves, and the other in a light blue  
uniform similar to her companions, with silver accenting the blue.  
Each held a weapon-- one, a simple staff with a gem atop it,  
another a discus with a needle sharp protrustion from its top, and  
the last, a sharp, heavily curved scythe.   
  
"W-Who are you?" Serena asked. Her suspicion of them was gone,  
but she felt an odd sort of *fear*. They had power that she couldn't  
possibly imagine; it radiated around them, swirling like black snakes.   
"Eternity." The pink one murmured with a slight bow.   
"Destiny." The lavender one spoke, bowing deeper.   
"Fate." The blue one whispered, nodding slightly.   
"Pluto."   
  
Another reverberation... deja vu passed through Serena, as the  
last name -as Pluto- seemed familiar to her. She *knew* her. Serena  
knew this girl was a Soldier, but the others...   
"You were not meant to have experienced this sad fate." Pluto  
began, approaching Serena.   
"But that is the way of this world, even if we do not wish it  
to be so." Destiny shook her head as she spoke, looking regretful.   
"Death comes hand in hand with Life; Darkness with Light. It   
is the way of things." Eternity told Serena seriously.   
  
Her tears gone, but her heart still aching, wishing that for   
once, she could have prevented the heartache Beryl caused altogether.  
Somehow... someway...  
"Serena," The blue one spoke, a hand on the younger girl's   
shoulder, "We are the guardians of Destiny, Fate, and Longevity.   
We determine life and death. We did not mean for your mother to  
be reborn, but her power surpasses ours. Only you can restore time  
completely, if you wish it to be so."  
"If I..." Serena murmured, her hand over her trembling lips.   
  
"We have seen the sad fates, and the happy ones. Been forced  
to choose the more difficult path, for it means you and yours  
will be prosperous and happy in the future."  
"The future... time... why does all of this go back to   
the past!? Something I can't change? Why do you people keep  
coming back to haunt and hurt me!?" Serena demanded, fresh tears  
tracking their way down her face now.  
The quartet looked taken aback; as they exchanged glances,  
they wondered just how the timeline would change if *this* Serena  
made a wish on it.   
  
"We... have made sacrifices, just like your mother," Destiny  
said softly.   
"So have you." Fate added, the depth and tone of her words  
conveying her sincerity.   
"You will continue to make sacrifices, in the name of the  
future. You and yours may never know perfect happiness, but the  
peace you long for will be attained." Eternity said.   
"...But only if you wish it to be so. You do not control  
the forces of Darkness, but you can help restore them to their  
proper place-- in the hearts of everyone." Pluto spoke, her  
maroon eyes giving Serena a brief glimpse of the future.   
  
Heartache. Pain. Destruction.   
But after all that, there was happiness. Peace. Family.   
  
'Everything I've always wanted...'   
  
"Alright." Serena agreed. Her hand clasped firmly on her  
brooch, she thought of a time when she would be with Darien,   
happy, and in peaceful times. No more fights.   
She thought of the girls, who wanted to cherish their  
other family members and friends as often as possible.   
People like Andrew... Lizzy... Ken... Greg... Chad...  
Grandpa Hino... Peggy... Rita... Molly... Melvin...   
  
All these people had helped shape their lives, their  
experiences. If not for their own chance at happiness, then  
for that of those innocents, those people made to suffer when  
they didn't deserve to.   
'I wish that everyone, even for just a moment, could  
experience the kind of perfect happiness we are all so greedy  
for...'   
'... That people who make sacrifices for others have the  
chance to see those sacrifices better those who they died and  
suffered for.'   
'That those less fortunate... in any situation... can rise  
up and become normal people, with a real chance for a normal  
life too...'   
'... and where one's fate, or destiny, isn't written down  
on paper, or carved in stone... but ahead of them, hidden from  
everyone's eyes, so that each person has a chance at that   
happiness...'   
  
The thoughts of the Scouts, still in the arcade's whiteness,  
the quartet of Fates and Time, and the thought of Serena, Rini,   
Darien, and everyone around the world-- even if they didn't realize  
it... they all came together as one brilliant thought, one hope,   
and one united wish.   
  
The Silver Imperium Crystal glowed, as did the weapons of   
the Fates, and of Sailor Pluto.   
"Eternal Measure... Palliation!"  
"Destiny Veil... Decay!"  
  
Atropos, the eldest, Sailor Fate, watched as her sisters'   
destructive attacks changed the fabric of time around them.   
From within the land of dreams, wishes, and hope, inside  
the very Tapestry of Time, anything could happen at the slightest  
touch.   
"Guardians... of the planets, the sun, the moon, and the stars.  
Please, guide my sisters, and the other guardians, that of the   
Princess, the Prince, and all the lights and people of this universe,  
regardless of their desires, to a time of happiness and true peace..."  
Fate prayed with all her heart, and her scythe vanished into   
time. Her Sailorsuit melted away into her normal dress, as did  
Eternity's and Destiny's.   
  
The two younger Fates collapsed in a heap as their final attacks  
exited their lips.   
"Infinite Tapestry... Ordination!"  
"Fortune's Shroud... Originate!"  
The destruction was healed before it could fully take effect, and as  
the Fates were returned by the Silver Crystal's powerful light from  
when and whence they had come, so did Serena.   
  
A wave of magenta light, powerful and unconfined, tore through  
the white space, clearing all the mistakes of destiny and fate.  
Pluto stood in the middle of the maelstrom, watching everything  
with a careful eye.   
Maybe it was taboo to stop time, to rearrange destiny as one saw  
fit. But there had to be a guardian, a god of everything. It gave   
people something to believe in, when their own fate was not enough.  
When hope eluded them, and times seemed bleak and endless, there   
was the idea, the thought... the wish that peace and happiness, just   
for them and those they loved... was out there.   
  
Somewhere.   
======================================================================  
OWARI  
======================================================================  
Wow. This kinda hit me one night, and now... it's done. I still can't  
believe it. I started this way back in 9th grade, because of stories  
that I had heard from Teen Mothers. In the Sailor Moon world, a teen  
pregnancy isn't one of those things that happens every day. So I warped  
the idea a lot, and by the end, had a strange concept of who was who,  
what was what, and what my message was.  
  
I guess there's really more than one 'moral' to this story. The first  
is that things that seem bad -death, accidents, mistakes- aren't really  
all that bad. Good, great, and even wonderful things can come as an  
indirect result of those events. You've no doubt heard the phrase  
"What doesn't kill you makes you strong eventually." It's true.   
  
I know I'm not alone when I say I've suffered some pretty heavy losses.  
Maybe I'm being disrespectful to make a joke out of it nowadays, but   
that's how I deal with pain. My 19 year old sister died in 1996,   
when I was only 11. My grandmother and aunt died not too long ago,  
one on a not-so-good New Year's Eve, and the other not long after.   
  
I say, "My family drops like flies," and I try to smile. But the truth  
is, sad events like that are no joke. People alleviate pain in   
different ways, the same way that some people don't feel pain about  
certain things. Losing love, like a person or a pet, can hurt. So can  
looking back and thinking, "I could have done something."   
  
What I really want to finish Only 16 with is that destiny isn't carved  
anywhere, read by anyone, or written down in permanent marker. Things  
can seem bad now, but they get better, even if you can't see how.   
People change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.  
But change is a good thing, no matter what, in the long run.   
  
I hope that I've affected at least one person out there with this  
story. Whether or not it's too OOC for Sailormoon, or you're a teen  
parent, or just... something. A random person, who, like anyone else,  
had had their heartstrings tugged. Maybe hard, maybe not.   
  
I'm not a fantastic writer, I know, but I try. -_- Look at me, still  
blabbering. That's it, minna. The end. I hope you liked it.  
This fic has taken me the longest to write, and I am damn proud of it.   
Heck, I think I could cry now that it's over. Maybe I'll go hunt  
down Tux Boy just so I can get myself a rose for this. ^^  
  
Thank you, thank you, thank you.   
To my sister, my grandparents (all of them, alive and dead), my  
mother, my father (even though he's a baka ^^;) and everyone  
who has ever touched my heart... all my friends, online or not,   
all my loves (both of 'em) and you. You rule! =)  
  
sailor_andromida@yahoo.com .:. Azurite .:. August 22nd, 2001, 10:42 PM 


End file.
